The National Liberation Army (ELN) of Colombia announced on January 22 that it is aware the body of Commander Camilo Torres Restrepo has been found.

In an official statement, the armed group clarified that “this event of such historical significance should neither be distorted nor used for any political gain.” They added that word is already spreading and the Colombian people, for whom he fought and gave his life, expect his remains to be respected.

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Meanwhile, the ELN stated in its text that “this year, 2026, marks six decades since the death in combat of our beloved Commander-in-Chief Camilo Torres Restrepo, and his presence is more alive than ever. People continue to talk about Camilo’s many facets: priest, sociologist, son, brother, friend, comrade, agitator, organizer, researcher, national political leader, guerrilla fighter… but essentially, Camilo was a complete revolutionary; his life was a whirlwind of action and commitment to the people,” the text emphasized.

The document continues, “Camilo’s memory, his work, his praxis will always be contested, since, depending on the political and ideological perspectives that address him, some of his dimensions are highlighted. In recent years, a narrative has been constructed by the establishment that presents us with a blurred and bourgeois Camilo; a narrative that is also used to justify the counterinsurgency war against the ELN, the insurgent organization that Camilo helped to build and where he sealed his fate.” His commitment to Liberation or Death. That truth cannot be falsified, nor can the battle of Patio Cemento, that tragic February 15th (1966), where the Commander gave his life, be erased from history.

“The oligarchy and its state, aware of Camilo’s subversive power, kidnapped his body; but his testimony, his political work, his programmatic proposal, and his commitment to the very end continued to resonate through mountains and cities, in thousands of women and men, in social, community, and revolutionary organizations, in hundreds of battles for national liberation and socialism. Camilo has passed into history and cannot be erased, nor used for purposes contrary to his life,” the statement emphasized.

Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciencs

For its part, the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (INMLCF) published that it “is conducting forensic analyses to determine if one of the samples corresponds to Mr. Camilo Torres Restrepo and clarifies that it does not have the aforementioned body in its custody.”

The forensic agency further stated that, “focused on the humanitarian work of recovering, identifying, and providing dignified return of skeletal remains, the agency is conducting an interdisciplinary technical and scientific analysis of the various bone samples obtained during these operations. Any updates related to the case will continue to be reported promptly through official channels.”

President Gustavo Petro has not yet commented on the matter.

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