On the evening of the 14th of January 1990, around 60 paramilitaries from the “Los Tangueros” group, who were under the orders of Fidel Castaño, arrived at Pueblo Bello where they proceeded to force people out of their houses and of the church. Photo: Alejandro González/PBI

The paramilitaries took them to the central plaza, made them lie face down, and selected 43 villagers, three of them children. Those they gagged them and took away. Photo: Alejandro González/PBI

Those 43 villagers were taken two hours away to a farm in the Department of Córdoba where they were received by Fidel Castaño, interrogated, and tortured. Photo: Alejandro González/PBI

Despite the suffering, the family members have maintained an unwavering struggle to find the remains of their loved ones, to learn the truth about what happened, and to prosecute those responsible. Photo: Alejandro González/PBI

Of the 43 disappeared, only six have been found and have yet to be clearly identified. Of the 60 paramilitaries who participated in the massacre, only six have been convicted. Photo: Alejandro González/PBI

After years of fruitless searching and endless proceedings before different authorities and national courts searching for truth and justice that wouldn’t come, representatives of the victims denounced the incidents before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In January 2006, the Inter-American Court found the Colombian State guilty of violating the right to life, personal integrity, legal protections, and freedom. Photo: Alejandro González/PBI

The commemoration began with an ecumenical ceremony in the Pueblo Bello church. After some opening words from José Daniel (in the photo), son of one of the disappeared, the names of each of the 43 disappeared were read aloud. Photo: Alejandro González/PBI

The families walked, with flowers and lit candles in hand, towards the Wall of Memory. The Wall was built to honour the memory of the disappeared villagers and was sponsored and erected by the family members themselves. The faces of the disappeared were drawn on the wall amidst pictures of other things commonly found in the region like mountains, cornfields, horses, and Bonche flowers. Photo: Alejandro González/PBI

“The victims were innocent; they had nothing to do with the conflict. They [the paramilitaries] lost 43 animals and took 43 villagers in their place. The animals that they lost were more important to them than the human lives they took; they put more value on the animals than on the human lives,” recalls a family member of the disappeared. Photo: Alejandro González/PBI

Everything changed for the victims’ families after their loved ones were forcibly disappeared. Their livelihoods were destroyed. Some fled out of fear; others stayed and endured the anguish and pain; but meanwhile, paramilitary activity flourished in the region. Photo: Alejandro González/PBI

José Daniel Álvarez, son of one of the disappeared, Don José del Carmen Álvarez Blanco, has been accompanied by Peace Brigades International since 1994 as a member of the Association of Families of the Detained-Disappeared (ASFADDES) and since 2005 as an individual human rights defender. Photo: Alejandro González/PBI