In January 2025, violence erupted in Colombia’s Catatumbo region near the Venezuelan border. It has long been the epicenter for rebel guerrillas and paramilitary groups who have financed themselves through cocaine production and narcotrafficking.

The latest available data shows around 100 people were killed in the fighting, which displaced an estimated 50 thousand people. While the government cracks down on the violence, the negative effects of displacement are already being felt in the region’s youth. Michelle Begue reports.

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