According to data released by Colombia’s Search Unit for Missing Persons, known by its Spanish acronym UBPD, at least 137,000 people have been reported missing in connection with the country’s armed conflict since 1921. Photo by Mario Caicedo/EPA
Aug. 31 (UPI) — When Tobías Borda Cepeda disappeared in rural Colombia in 1921 amid local land disputes, his family could not have foreseen that his case would mark the beginning of a tragedy that would span a century.
According to data released by Colombia’s Search Unit for Missing Persons, known by its Spanish acronym UBPD, at least 137,000 people have been reported missing in connection with the country’s armed conflict since that year.
Marking the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on Sunday, the agency said 48.5% of all cases occurred during the 2000s, with the highest concentration between 2001 and 2003.
Disappearances during the first decade of the 21st century represent a dark chapter in Colombia’s recent history. Between 2000 and 2010, the country experienced an escalation in violence marked by fighting among right-wing paramilitary groups, left-wing guerrillas and state forces in a war waged on multiple fronts.
During that period, armed groups used enforced disappearances to conceal the large number of victims, terrorize local communities and facilitate the illegal seizure of millions of acres of rural land.
Valle del Cauca, Antioquia and Meta have recorded the highest number of cases, according to the UBPD.
The concentration of cases in those regions reflected the broader strategic objectives of armed groups seeking to control key corridors for drug trafficking and arms smuggling, as well as natural resources and rural border areas.
“This is a crucial date to remember that disappearances have not stopped,” Luz Janeth Forero, director general of the UBPD, said in a statement.
Forero said records from the International Committee of the Red Cross show that another 2,659 people have disappeared since the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, signed a peace agreement in 2016.
The Red Cross warned Friday that at least one person has disappeared every two days this year as a result of Colombia’s armed conflict, with 99 cases recorded between January and July.
The international organization said in a statement that 36 of those reported missing were children and adolescents.
On Saturday, Colombia’s new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, ended negotiations with several illegal armed groups that had been launched by his predecessor, Gustavo Petro. He revoked the appointments of government representatives and withdrew recognition of the opposing delegations involved in talks under the so-called Total Peace plan.