BOGOTA (CNN) - Marxist rebels in Colombia have shown themselves to
                  be quite capable capitalists, earning more than $5.3 billion over the last eight
                  years through drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion, according to a
                  report released Monday by the Colombian government.

                  The report, issued by the army and the government's National Planning
                  Department, said the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
                  and the National Liberation Army (ELN) -- the oldest and largest rebel
                  groups in the hemisphere -- generated $2.3 billion from drugs alone from
                  1991 through 1998.

                  The report also said the guerrillas earned $1.8 billion from extortion and theft
                  and more than $1.2 billion from ransom payments.

                  In comparison, the government's military budget during the same period
                  totaled more than $12 billion, according to Defense Ministry figures.

                  The government's report said the total amount earned by the two groups
                  was more than 5 trillion pesos worth, or $3.2 billion at the current exchange
                  rate.

                  However, the real figure is higher when the exchange rate for the year in
                  question is applied. The peso was nearly 2.5 times stronger in 1991 than it
                  was at the end of last year.

                  With the combined force of the FARC and the ELN put at about 20,000,
                  the government's figures would mean that each rebel had amassed some
                  $265,000 in a country where the current minimum wage amounts to less
                  than $2,000 per year.

                  The army report said just seven people in the FARC -- its ruling General
                  Secretariat -- handle the bulk of the group's finances. Eight men in the ELN
                  are said to have direct control of its funds. Each of these groups can be
                  thought of as a sort of quasi-corporate "board of directors" for their
                  respective rebel factions.

                  The FARC and the ELN admit to kidnapping, describing the abductions as
                  "retentions" to raise war taxes. But they deny having any direct involvement
                  with Colombia's huge cocaine and heroin trade.

                  President Andres Pastrana has launched a high-profile peace process with
                  the FARC. But critics say the rebels have little intention of giving up what
                  has become an extremely lucrative conflict.

                                    Reuters contributed to this report.