Revealing the Past: Camilo Torres' Remains Identified After 60 Years

The Colombian entity responsible for tracking down and identifying individuals who disappeared during the nation's six-decade-long civil conflict has announced the successful identification of the remains of Camilo Torres. A Catholic priest known for joining the National Liberation Army (ELN), Torres was killed during combat in the 1960s.

The Search Unit for Disappeared People (UBPD) was established by a peace deal struck in 2016 between the government and the FARC guerrilla group. Its mission is to locate and identify those who vanished during the conflict, including individuals forcibly disappeared by various military and paramilitary forces. UBPD Director Luz Janeth Forero stated that efforts to identify Torres' remains involved public and confidential records and DNA analysis.

Handed over to Father Javier Giraldo on the 60th anniversary of his disappearance, Torres' remains will be buried at Bogota's National University where he studied and served as a chaplain. Once criticized by the Catholic Church for his association with the ELN, Torres' legacy as a chaplain and social justice advocate is now being reassessed.