Thousands of individuals have vanished in Latin America amid prolonged conflicts, with many presumed lost to ruthless dictatorships, insurgencies, or organized crime. The most notorious cases of mass disappearances occurred during the military regimes in Argentina and Chile, yet there are similarly harrowing, though less publicized, events across the region.
Countries such as Peru, Colombia, and Paraguay continue to grapple with the search for the missing. Family members have sought solace in their faith yet endure long periods of uncertainty and an apparent lack of justice from authorities. For instance, from an estimated 20,000 individuals who disappeared in Peru, only 3,200 remains have been discovered. In Colombia, more than 124,000 people remain unaccounted for after years of violence, while Paraguay’s dictatorship accounted for about 500 disappearances, with merely 15 bodies recovered.
Colombia’s experience reveals the intricate dynamics of peace and conflict. Decades of violence involving leftist guerrillas, right-wing militias, drug traffickers, and government forces have resulted in over 450,000 deaths and 124,000 disappearances. This situation is comparable to other Latin American conflicts where countless individuals have gone missing under analogous circumstances. However, Colombia has seen unique collaborative efforts aimed at reconciliation, involving former rebels, officials, forensic experts, and religious leaders working together to locate the disappeared.
Following a peace agreement in 2016 with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), former President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. Despite this, the subsequent administrations have struggled to address persistent violence, inequality, and displacement—factors that contributed to Colombia’s conflict dating back to the 1960s. The current president, Gustavo Petro, a former rebel, aims to end the cycle of violence and integrate various groups. Yet, his efforts have been hampered by ongoing violence from remaining rebel factions, including the National Liberation Army (ELN), as well as persistent activities by FARC offshoots and drug cartels.
Three vital institutions were created following the peace agreement to aid in finding the missing: the Truth Commission, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, and the Search Unit for Disappeared Persons, the latter focusing on locating and exhuming the remains of missing individuals. One poignant narrative comes from Doris Tejada, who discovered her son Óscar Morales’ remains in 2024 after a 17-year search, expressing the ongoing pain of his loss.
Moving to Paraguay, the impact of former dictator Alfredo Stroessner’s regime lingers. Although his rule ended in 1989 after 35 years, locals feel remnants of his authoritarian leadership remain. Experts note that the enduring presence of the political party that maintained support for Stroessner hinders accountability; many responsible for the atrocities during his regime have escaped justice, and education about this dark chapter is often sidelined.
Rogelio Goiburu, who has been searching for his father for nearly half a century, currently oversees historic memory at the Ministry of Justice but faces challenges due to lack of funding. Despite these obstacles, he continues to gather information through personal efforts and has gained the trust of former police and military personnel. Notably, the search for the truth has seen only one substantial excavation since Stroessner’s fall, resulting in a meager recovery of just four identified bodies from the 15 found.
In Peru, a protracted conflict between the government and the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) led to the disappearance of approximately 20,000 people from 1980 to 2000. This violent period was marked by dramatic acts of terror attributed not only to the insurgents but also to the military forces that frequently perpetrated human rights violations. The Truth Commission reported that overall, over 69,000 individuals were cataloged as victims of this brutal conflict.
The demographic shifts in Peru over these years were profound, as men were lost to violence, communities were uprooted, and collective trauma has permeated society. Scholars emphasize that the ramifications of this era are still evident today. Even with ongoing efforts from various organizations and forensic experts, only a fraction of the missing has been located, leading to concerns about the government potentially scaling back its support for these critical search efforts directed at the families of the disappeared.
