The Road Back from the Guerrilla

“Maria” (19) was recruited into the guerrilla group Frente 33 after following her boyfriend into the armed movement. Her family lived in the Catatumbo region of Colombia, an area marked by violence, fear, armed conflict, cocaine trafficking and kidnappings carried out by armed groups. When her mother, “Luisa,” found out where her daughter was, she went to the guerrillas to bring her back home, but was told she could not take her with her. After months of struggle, and with the help of the organization Mothers of Catatumbo, “Maria” returned to her family on the outskirts of the border city of Cúcuta, where they had fled from the war in Catatumbo. Only after escaping the guerrillas did she discover that she was pregnant.