The Encounter for Truth between Salvatore Mancuso, former leader of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), and Rodrigo Londoño, third and last commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), marked a milestone in the country’s history as it allowed two mortal enemies to stand, for the first time, face to face, ready to listen and speak in front of the victims. However, it was the victims and their families who were at the centre of this conversation. Some of them were encouraged to write letters addressed to these two leaders, and express to them what they had perhaps wanted to say for a long time. At the core of their writings were also the questions they had always wanted to ask them: why did you do it? What made you feel you had the right to take lives? Who benefited from the war?

Although it is a fictional story, this graphic novel is based on the courageous testimonies of the victims who participated in the process of contributing to the truth and recognition of responsibilities of Rodrigo Londoño and Salvatore Mancuso, carried out in Bogotá, on August 4th, 2021. We are grateful to those who wrote their letters and provided their voices within the framework of this process of recognition, and to those responsible who, in this space, recognized their participation in the armed conflict. Graphic novel written for the Truth Commission.