Khthon documents mass graves, atrocity crimes, and forensic evidence from conflict zones worldwide. Our work is strictly humanitarian and apolitical.
This site may contain imagery and descriptions of deceased individuals, violent injuries, and human remains gathered in the course of active investigations. Content is presented for accountability and documentation purposes only.
Khthon documents mass graves, atrocity crimes, and forensic evidence from conflict zones worldwide. Our work is strictly humanitarian and apolitical.
This site may contain imagery and descriptions of deceased individuals, violent injuries, and human remains gathered in the course of active investigations.
Country / Region Overview
Colombia is a large democracy in South America that has been defined by more than five decades of armed conflict.
Leftist guerrilla groups such as the FARC and ELN have fought the state since the 1960s, while right-wing paramilitary organizations and drug cartels surged in influence through the 1980s and 1990s. The war brought massacres, assassinations, forced displacement, and countless disappearances, with rural communities bearing the brunt. Although a 2016 peace accord with the FARC raised hopes for national reconciliation, violence persists in many areas, with dissident factions, organized crime, and security forces continuing to clash.
"Each site identified is both a technical achievement and a humanitarian necessity, illuminating the hidden geography of Colombia's long war."
— Khthon Field Assessment
The legacy of this conflict is visible in the thousands of clandestine and mass graves scattered across the country. Victims were often abducted, killed, and buried in unmarked pits in remote terrain — deep forests, riversides, and mountain regions where access remains extraordinarily difficult. For Khthon, mapping and documenting these sites is particularly challenging: graves are hidden beneath dense canopy or far from infrastructure, making traditional imagery analysis insufficient.
As a result, Khthon relies heavily on SOCMINT and HUMINT — testimonies from survivors, families, defectors, and community members, as well as geolocated content shared online — to pinpoint possible burial sites. The state's Search Unit for Missing Persons continues to investigate with similar constraints, estimating more than 80,000 people missing.
1964
FARC founded
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) emerge from rural agrarian disputes, marking the beginning of one of Latin America's longest-running insurgencies.
1981
Paramilitary groups emerge
Right-wing self-defence militias begin forming across the country, backed by landowners, drug traffickers, and elements of the military. They would go on to commit widespread massacres and disappearances.
1985
Palace of Justice siege
The M-19 guerrilla group seizes Colombia's Supreme Court. The military retakes the building by force, leaving over 100 dead and several people disappeared — some still unaccounted for.
1997–2006
AUC paramilitary consolidation and atrocities
The United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) unify paramilitary factions. Mass killings in El Salado, Mapiripán, and Chengue define this era. Thousands are disappeared and buried in clandestine graves.
2005
Justice and Peace Law enacted
The law offers reduced sentences to demobilising paramilitaries in exchange for confessions and victim reparations. It unlocks thousands of testimonies about mass grave locations across the country.
2016
Peace accord signed with FARC
The Colombian government and FARC sign a landmark peace agreement in Cartagena. A Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) is established to investigate war crimes and surface the truth about disappearances.
2017
Search Unit for Missing Persons established
The UBPD (Unidad de Búsqueda de Personas dadas por Desaparecidas) is created to search for over 80,000 missing persons. It operates with HUMINT-heavy methodology given the inaccessibility of grave sites.
2019–Present
Ongoing violence and dissident activity
FARC dissident factions, the ELN, and organised crime groups continue to contest territory. New waves of displacement and disappearances occur in Chocó, Caquetá, and the Pacific coast. Khthon continues active monitoring.
Browse Khthon's full catalogue of country and case reports across seven global regions, or get involved with our ongoing investigations.
