Teenagers and young adults receive an Indigenous guard vest and a folding chair at the end of the graduation ceremony on July 18, 2025, in Manuelico village, Caldono, Colombia. (AP Photo/Nadège Mazars)
WHEN Patricia Elago Zetty’s 13-year-old son went missing in Colombia’s conflict-ridden southwest, she didn’t hesitate.
Elago and five fellow members of the Indigenous Guard trekked across the mountains to confront the guerillas they believed had taken him and another boy to swell their ranks.
