Talking About Colombia

The Center for Historical Memory released a report on kidnapping in Colombia between 1970 and 2013.

Some statistics:

39,058 people have been kidnapped in these 40 years.

301 people were kidnapped more than once.

One person was kidnapped five times.

Of 21,130 cases, 79 percent were children.

97 percent of kidnapped victims are Colombian.

Of 9,082 cases, 37 percent were kidnapped by FARC, 30 percent by ELN, 20 percent by criminal networks, 4 percent by paramilitaries, and 9 percent by others.

7,812 people have been charged with kidnapping, but only 3,144 people have been convicted for kidnapping — that is only 8 percent of total kidnappings.

In 32,734 cases, 79 percent of kidnappings targeted a specific individual, 16 percent were kidnapped by “miraculous fishing” (a car is stopped in a roadblock, people are taken hostage, and the kidnappers calculate how much to extortion in ransom depending on the person’s estimated net worth.), and 5 percent were kidnapped when a criminal group took control of a place.

In 32,734 cases, 78 percent of victims were men and 22 percent were women.

The loved ones of kidnapped victims record their messages on the radio show
“Voices of Kidnapping.” Their words become a lifeline for many hostages.