Colombia's cemeteries may hold answers for families of disappeared
August 25, 2021
7:43 PM CDT
Last Updated 11 hours ago
Americas
By Julia Symmes Cobb
6 minute read
LA DORADA, Colombia, Aug 25 (Reuters) - When her 17-year-old son Jose Andres was kidnapped by paramilitaries at the height of Colombia's civil conflict, Gloria Ines Urueña vowed she would not leave the sweltering riverside town of La Dorada until she found him.
She has been true to her word for more than two decades - searching for her son's body despite threats from the group that killed him.
An estimated 120,000 people have gone missing during Colombia's nearly 60 years of conflict. A 2016 peace deal between the government and the Marxist FARC rebels brought some respite, but another left-wing insurgency and armed criminal gangs - many descended from right-wing paramilitaries - persist.
Now a national plan to identify victims buried anonymously in cemeteries has renewed the hope Urueña and thousands like her hold of finding their loved ones' remains.
More:
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombias-cemeteries-may-hold-answers-families-disappeared-2021-08-25/