On 17 October 2025, following a long and painful struggle by the family of Marino Escobar Aroca, the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro recognised the responsibility of the Colombian State in the disappearance and killing of Marino Escobar in a ceremony that took place in Bogotá.
At the ceremony his daughter, Diana Escobar Santander responded on behalf of the family to President Petro’s speech recognising the States Responsibility in the disappearance, torture and killing of Marino. In her speech Diana highlighted the cost of pursuing truth, justice, reparations and non-repetition and of defending the rights of others in Colombia. She and her family have experienced this cost by being doubly victimised, first losing their father, and then being forced to flee the country due to threats from persecutors.
In a moving quote, Diana states “The damage has already been done: hearts broken, souls laid bare, many tears shed and too much grief. And today I ask myself, what does this day mean, when those who failed us at the time and did not protect us are now publicly asking for our forgiveness? Perhaps it is not enough, and perhaps it never will be.”
Present at the Ceremony were Marino’s wife Elizabeth Santander Escobar, his daughter Diana and son Miguel, along with Elizabeth’s partner, Miguel Puerto and the legal NGO Colectivo de Jose Alvear Restrepo (CAJAR), who supported the family in their search for truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition.
“For decades I have searched tirelessly. I have been able to establish that the DAS had a file with his photograph, his personal information, and our address, and that the 3rd [Army] Brigade also kept a complete intelligence file on him. However, those files remain closed, as if the truth were the property of a few and not a right of those of us who are waiting for justice. (…) This silence imposed by the State and by those responsible for these practices is, in itself, a form of torture (…) [1] Elizabeth Santander
In order to save other families from the gruelling ordeal that the Santander family have suffered, and in order that truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition is promoted it is essential that the Colombian intelligence archives for that period of history are declassified.
Background
On 22 January 1987, in Bogotá, Marino Escobar was forcibly disappeared by agents of State, who were part of the now defunct DAS (Departamento Administrativa de Seguridad – Colombia’s former intelligence agency). DAS was infamously known for the systematic persecution of opposition leaders, trade unionists, members of the judiciary, journalists, human rights defenders and human rights organisations. [2] They used a range of illegal intelligence techniques including surveillance, information theft, sabotage, smear campaigns, threats, psychological torture and murder to achieve illegal aims, all the while reporting directly to the president. Previously, in August 1986, Marino had been illegally detained by the very same DAS agents, at that time they subjected him to physical and psychological torture.[3]
In 1990 due to fears for her and her family’s safety Elizabeth was forced to leave Colombia with her young daughter, Diana and to live in exile in the UK. Despite the obstacles put in her way to discovering the truth surrounding Marino’s disappearance Elizabeth never gave up. It was a search that has lasted for thirty-seven years. In order to try to overcome the constant obstacles and impunity by the Colombian State she and her lawyers, CAJAR, took her husband’s case tothe Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Elizabeth Santander exemplifies the resilience of women searchers, who continue their struggle to find their loved ones, many of whom in turn become victims of enforced disappearance. Despite being forced to leave Colombia in 1990, Elizabeth worked tirelessly not only in the search for her husband but also to raise awareness and support other victims as part of the Familiares Europa Abya Yala de Personas Desaparecidas en Colombia (European/Indigenous Relatives of Missing Persons in Colombia).
Marino Escobar Aroca was a human rights lawyer working with the CAJAR, one of the most respected human rights organisations in Colombia founded in 1979. CAJAR is a partner of ABColombia.
In January 2026 Decree 0063 of 2026 was issued. This Decree regulates Law 2364 of 2024, through which the work and rights of women seekers are recognised and fully protected. It also strengthens the recognition of women seekers of missing persons as peacebuilders and human rights defenders.
“This decree consolidates a sustained effort for years by organizations and leaders of seekers, whose work has made visible the profound social, community and intergenerational impact of enforced disappearance.” Defensoría del Pueblo
The regulation of Law 2364 of 2024 is due to the persistent work of Yannette Bautista and other women seekers who have documented cases of enforced disappearance, supported families in their search and promoted this initiative.
Now concrete measures are necessary at the institutional level with protocols of care and registers that formally recognise women seekers, effective coordination between the national and local levels; and a strengthening of psychosocial and psychospiritual actions of care from their own cosmogonies.
Recognising women seekers means moving toward truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition.
[1] Elizabeth Santander, esposa de Marino Escobar Aroca y mujer buscadora, pidió al presidente Gustavo Petro desclasificar archivos de inteligencia que permitirían encontrar al padre de su hija – CAJAR
[2] https://pbicolombia.org/2015/07/31/illegal-activities-by-the-das/
[3]Elizabeth Santander, wife of Marino Escobar Aroca and a woman searching for her missing daughter, asked President Gustavo Petro to declassify intelligence files that would allow her to find her daughter’s father.