Bogota, Colombia – Angela Cordon was only a teenager when her father and uncle disappeared.
asserted
father → disappear → ?
They were among a string of farmers and merchants to go missing in the southwestern department of Huila in Colombia.
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They → go → Colombia
First came her uncle Reynaldo Cordon Herrera's kidnapping.
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kidnapping → come → ?
A grocer by trade, he had been travelling by truck on January 22, 2003, when he went missing.
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he → travel → January
The next month, Guillermo Cordon Herrera — Angela's father — set out to discover what happened to his brother, tracing his whereabouts through rural Colombia.
Guillermo called home one night with news: He had made contact with the rebel fighters he believed to be responsible for his brother's abduction.
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he → set → abduction
It was the last time his family would ever hear from him.
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family → hear → him
His body was never found, nor was his brother's.
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brother → find → ?
Angela's father and uncle are among the more than 450,664 people killed as part of Colombia's six-decade-long internal armed conflict.
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father → kill → conflict
In the 23 years since their disappearance, Angela and her family have sought any information they could find about their loved ones' last days.
uncertain
they → seek → days
"I have dedicated my life to this search," she told Al Jazeera.
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she → dedicate → Jazeera
She credits one institution in particular with helping her find answers: Colombia's Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), a transitional justice court.
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her → credit → Peace
Set up in 2016 as part of a peace deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's largest rebel group at the time, the court handles the prosecution and investigation of crimes committed during the conflict.
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court → Set → conflict
But victims, their loved ones and even some former fighters fear that budget cuts could gut JEP, leaving the court unable to fulfil its mission.
uncertain
cuts → love → mission
This month, the administration of right-wing President Abelardo de la Espriella announced it would enact a 2027 budget with dramatic reductions for government bodies like JEP.
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it → announce → JEP
The total cuts to JEP were valued at around 181 billion Colombian pesos, or roughly $57m.
On Wednesday, a Senate committee also advanced a bill to eliminate JEP altogether by March 2028, with a proposal to transfer its functions to the general court system.
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committee → value → system
Angela, however, credits JEP with offering closure that the criminal justice system was never able to provide.
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system → credit → that
She worries that slashing the court's funding — much less shuttering it entirely — could derail its work.
uncertain
slashing → worry → work
Through JEP, Angela learned about her father and uncle's time in captivity, as well as the site of their execution.
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Angela → learn → execution
JEP has also worked with former FARC members to try to locate their remains.
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JEP → work → remains
"Fewer resources mean fewer missions to the field to find answers, less humanitarian personnel," Angela said, bracing for the cuts.
"
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Angela → mean → cuts
It probably means that we will never be able to return to the site.
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we → mean → site
"
A 'duty to manage spending'
De la Espriella has framed the budget reduction as necessary to combat Colombia's rising public debt, which exceeds $370bn.
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which → manage → 370bn
"It is my duty to manage spending, demand results, and allocate the government's limited resources to a justice system that serves everyone," de la Espriella wrote in a September statement, defending his decision to trim JEP's funding.
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Espriella → manage → funding
He estimated that its payroll budget alone was north of 404 billion pesos, or $127m, in 2026.
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budget → estimate → 2026
Critics, however, have questioned whether austerity is the motive for the downsizing.
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austerity → question → downsizing
At around 634 trillion pesos or $200bn, de la Espriella's 2027 budget increases spending overall.
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budget → increase → spending
Passed by presidential decree, the budget is considered the largest spending package in the history of the country.
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budget → pass → country
But de la Espriella has targeted JEP for reasons beyond its cost.
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Espriella → target → cost
He has repeatedly criticised JEP as slow and ineffective, failing to deliver on its promises of justice.
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He → criticise → justice
He has also slammed the court's investigations as biased against military members — and too lenient on rebels.
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He → slam → rebels
In an interview with the radio show Recap Blu, he accused JEP of "persecuting the heroes of the homeland" while "washing the hands of the guerrillas who committed crimes against humanity".
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who → accuse → humanity
But many victims' rights advocates dispute that assessment.
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advocates → dispute → assessment
Ana Maria Rodriguez, a lawyer who represents victims of Colombia's conflict, described the accusation of bias as "patently false".
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who → represent → bias
She pointed out that JEP has convicted some of the top leadership in the FARC, the rebel group that disarmed as part of the 2016 peace deal.
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that → point → deal
“It hasn’t been perfect or complete,” Rodriguez said of the JEP's work.
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Rodriguez → say → work
"But the peace process here has become a model studied by other countries around the world.
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process → become → world
We have to keep this process functional.”
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We → have → process
She believes that cuts to the court's budget will lead to fewer convictions, furthering impunity rather than preventing it.
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cuts → believe → it
“Many of the [perpetrators] have never faced any justice mechanisms outside of the JEP,” Rodriguez said.
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Rodriguez → face → JEP
In its effort to close unsolved cases, the court has offered leniency to soldiers, rebels and other fighters in exchange for cooperation with ongoing investigations.
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court → close → investigations
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
