An influential figure in the 1960s in liberation theology, priest Camilo Torres chose to join the ranks of the National Liberation Army (ELN) in 1965. He lost his life a few months later during combat. Sixty years later, his remains have just been formally identified.

Published on: 02/17/2026 - 2:36 p.m.

The remains of Camilo Torres have been formally identified, 60 years after his death. The announcement was made on Monday February 16 in Colombia by the Missing Persons Search Unit, born from the 2016 peace agreement with the Farc guerrillas.

This emblematic priest of the Colombian guerrillas, one of the pioneers of the convergence between Catholicism and rebel struggle, left the Church to enlist in 1965 in the ranks of the National Liberation Army (ELN), of Guevarist inspiration, before dying a few months later, in February 1966, during one of his very first fights against the Colombian army.

An influential figure in the 1960s in liberation theology, a Christian movement of thought born in Latin America in the 1960s and 70s centered on the defense of the poor and oppressed, his rapid death contributed to making him a revolutionary myth.

“A source of hope”

“For us, it is a source of hope”, “it shows that research can succeed (...), even 60 years later”, declared Luz Janeth Forero, the director of the research entity, in a video.

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The body of Camilo Torres was found in a cemetery in Bucaramanga (eastern Colombia), where he was buried after being exhumed three years after his death.

The ELN was founded in July 1964 by trade unionists, farmers and students, many trained in Cuba and sympathetic to Ernesto "Che" Guevara and the Cuban revolution. Still active, the guerrillas finance themselves today mainly through drug trafficking and other illegal activities.

After abortive attempts at dialogue, the government of Gustavo Petro – left-wing president and himself a former guerrilla – opted for a military strategy against the guerrillas, for which the United States offered to help.

With AFP

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