Colombia Confronts a Painful Legacy on 40th Anniversary of Palace of Justice Siege

2 hours ago7 min read

Four decades later, the 28-hour siege that turned Colombia's Palace of Justice into a fiery battleground remains an open wound in the nation's collective memory. On November 6, 1985, 35 M-19 guerrilla fighters seized the building, taking hundreds hostage—including 11 of the country's 25 Supreme Court justices.The subsequent military assault, authorized by President Belisario Betancur, culminated in a devastating fire that gutted the palace and incinerated vital legal archives. While the official death toll stands at 98, the unresolved fate of the disappeared—particularly cafeteria staff who vanished without a trace—continues to fuel anguish and legal disputes.The M-19's assault was a dramatic bid to put the government on trial for allegedly broken peace pledges, but the state's response with overwhelming force raised profound questions about accountability and the limits of counterinsurgency. The inferno's origin—whether a combat accident or a deliberate act of obscuration—remains a subject of intense speculation. For the victims' families and a nation grappling with transitional justice, the siege represents a tragic nexus of insurgent ambition and state power, its legacy a somber lesson in the fragility of judicial institutions and the enduring cost of unresolved conflict.

#Colombia

#Palace of Justice

#M-19

#guerrilla siege

#armed conflict

#anniversary

#Bogota

#featured

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