Nearly six decades ago, the whereabouts of Camilo Torres Restrepo were one of the most persistent enigmas of Colombia’s armed conflict. A priest, sociologist, and insurgent militant, his death during a combat operation in 1966 left a physical absence that became a symbol: the disappearance of his body fueled myths, political disputes, and demands for historical truth.
This Friday, a group of forensic experts announced what many considered impossible: the identification, still in the process of verification, of a body that could correspond to that legendary figure.
The news, which coincides with the approach of the 60th anniversary of his death, has reignited debate over the memory of the conflict, institutional transparency, and the place of historical figures in the construction of peace. Forensic investigations, supported by modern scientific techniques, have made it possible to advance in the confirmation of remains that for decades remained in the shadows of Colombian history.
Corpse of Colombian guerrillero priest Camilo Torres discovered
The Forensic Investigations Corps has achieved what many believed implausible: locating and analyzing skeletal remains that, after historical and technical comparison, could belong to Camilo Torres Restrepo, the guerrillero priest who lost his life on February 15, 1966, during his first combat as a member of the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla.
Torres, who had abandoned priestly life to join the armed struggle, fell in Patio Cemento, in the department of Santander, and his body was buried in an undisclosed location by the National Army at the time, in an attempt to prevent it from becoming a focus of symbolic exaltation.
The identification process has involved the collection of testimonies, the review of historical documents, and the use of forensic anthropology techniques that allow for the dating and comparison of ancient skeletal remains. The Unit for the Search for Persons Deemed Missing (UBPD) has reported significant progress in locating the body, although it emphasizes that verification stages still need to be completed before a definitive confirmation.
At the same time, the National Institute of Legal Medicine has indicated that it is conducting analyses of the samples, without yet having custody of the remains in question, and that these studies are essential to establish with certainty whether they belong to Torres Restrepo.
The ELN and the vindication of a historical figure
The National Liberation Army itself has sought to interpret the discovery as an act of historical vindication. In a statement circulated by the guerrilla group, it is claimed that the remains have been “verified,” and it requests that, once officially confirmed, they be handed over to the National University of Colombia for placement on the campus where Torres served as a professor and founded the first School of Sociology in Latin America.
For the ELN, his figure embodies the union of faith, social commitment, and revolutionary struggle, and the recovery of his body is presented as an act of symbolic justice after decades of oblivion.
However, state authorities have maintained a more cautious stance in response to the insurgent group’s claims. Although they have not denied that there are remains that could be Torres’s, they have stressed that scientific procedures must be allowed to run their course to avoid premature conclusions. This nuance is key in a country where the memory of the conflict has been a source of political and social tensions, and where the identification of victims and the disappeared has become a central element of reconciliation processes.
In this regard, the illegal armed group has called for a tribute that the State is unlikely to recognize. “Today the ELN knows that the body of Cmdr. Camilo Torres Restrepo has been found and its authenticity verified. The Colombian people, for whom he fought and offered his life, expect that his remains will be respected and deposited on the campus of the National University,” wrote the ELN Peace Delegation on its account on the social media platform X.
🚨 Atención 🚨
Hoy el ELN conoce que el cuerpo del cmdte Camilo Torres Restrepo ha sido encontrado y verificada su autenticidad. El pueblo colombiano, por el que luchó y ofrendó su vida, espera que sus restos sean respetados y depositados en el Campus de la Universidad Nacional. pic.twitter.com/qG936TavzB— DelegaDPaz (@DDPazELN) January 23, 2026
A figure that continues to spark debate
Camilo Torres Restrepo was not a typical guerrilla fighter. Before joining the ELN, he was a priest trained in law and sociology, ordained in 1954, with academic studies in Europe.
His intellectual trajectory led him to become one of the promoters of Liberation Theology, a movement that sought to link the Christian faith with the struggle for social and political justice in Latin America. This combination of roles—priest, sociologist, university professor, and insurgent guerrilla—gave him a singular place in the country’s political history.
The possible identification of his remains comes at a time when Colombia faces the challenge of confronting its recent past while attempting to consolidate a future of peace. For some, the recovery of Torres’s body represents a step toward truth and justice, a gesture that may contribute to the recognition of victims and the closing of wounds.
For others, Torres’s figure remains controversial, a symbol that generates divisions rather than consensus, especially in debates over the role of armed movements in national history.
Reactions from experts, human rights organizations, victims’ families, and political sectors are yet to become clearer in the coming days. What is clear is that the forensic investigation now being announced not only aims to resolve a decades-old mystery, but also raises profound questions about how a society confronts and rebuilds its collective memory based on events that marked its recent history.
In this crossroads of history, science, and memory, the figure of Camilo Torres Restrepo continues to be a subject of reflection, questioning, and, above all, controversy. His body, if it is ultimately confirmed, will close one chapter and open new spaces for debate about what his life meant and what his legacy represents for Colombia and Latin America.