UBPD recovers bodies in Barranquilla and launches search route in Huila

The Unit for the Search of Persons Deemed Missing (UBPD) has concluded a three-phase humanitarian intervention at the Calancala Catholic Cemetery in Barranquilla, Colombia. During this operation, forensic teams recovered 10 bodies that had remained unidentified. This brings the total number of remains recovered at this site to 33 across all phases of the project.

Many of these cases date back to the 1990s, a period of intense violence in the Colombian armed conflict. During that time, the Magdalena River served as a corridor for violence, and many victims were swept downstream to the shores of Barranquilla. Due to the lack of records and the haste of burials at the time, these individuals were interred as unidentified persons.

In a separate effort to address the crisis of missing persons, the UBPD has launched ‘La Ruta Buscadora’ in the Huila department. This mobile strategy will travel through 28 municipalities, including Pitalito, Neiva, and Garzón, over the next two months. The initiative aims to bring search services directly to rural areas and populated centers to assist families and collect information. In the Huila region alone, the UBPD reports more than 1,760 missing persons.