QUIBDÓ, Colombia — When Luz Mely Moreno walks through Reposo, the gang-controlled neighborhood where she grew up, she counts her blessings. She is not in prison. She is not dead. In fact, she is one semester away from finishing a psychology degree at the local university.
What separates her from many of the young people she grew up with is the support of a program that no longer exists. Before shuttering in early 2025, multiple initiatives backed by the U.S. Agency for International Development sought to protect young people in Quibdó, a city along the Atrato River in northwestern Colombia, from being drawn into its gang violence. Moreno was among them.
One program, called Youth Resilience, aimed to empower local youth through entrepreneurship support, leadership programs, and dance classes. Before closing in February 2025, its Quibdó branch helped 3,100 young people and rehabilitated some 200 members of gangs involved in extortion and small-scale drug trafficking.
About the author
Alfie Pannell
Alfie Pannell is a British journalist based in Bogotá, Colombia, covering human rights, conflict, politics, and climate. His work has been featured in Reuters, Al Jazeera, NPR, The Globe and Mail, Miami Herald, The New Humanitarian, and more. He is also an associate editor at Latin America Reports.
