Stories by DUDLEY ALTHAUS

Photography by DAVE EINSEL

A murder victim lies unattended in a Bogota hospital's emergency room.
"People come up with a lot of ways to hurt each other," says Jorge Rueda
Torres, a young intern. "It terrifies you."

A GUIDE TO THIS SECTION

Colombia: "We are exterminating our youth"

Medellin: With a bullet in his head at 17, Jimmy Botero is one of thousands
of young men killed every year in this bloody city. Terrorist bombings have
become commonplace. Street people are targets of "social cleansing".
Thousands trek to the grave of drug boss Pablo Escobar.

San Jose Apartado: Hundreds of refugees from Colombia's civil war are
marooned in this village while various factions wage catandmouse warfare
in the surrounding hills.

Yopal: Fueled by oil and fed by the civil war, a maelstrom of violence
builds in the cattle country surrounding this boom town.

Bogota: Civil war unchecked for 35 years. A litany of bloodshed, recited
for centuries. Homegrown law enforcement thrives across Colombia.
Searching for ways to stop the violence occupies many.

THE TEAM

Dudley Althaus, the Chronicle's Mexico City bureau chief, has covered Latin
America for 13 years. He is the recipient of the distinguished Maria Coors
Cabot Prize for his body of work. Dave Einsel, director of photography, has
won national and state awards for photojournalism. Other staffers: Darlene
Stinson, project editor; Hank Glamann, coordinating editor, Susan Barber,
designer; Bruce Oren, graphic artist; Ernie Williamson, art director; David
Foltyn and Pattie Harrington, electronic imagers; Fernando Dovalina and
Chris Shively, supervising editors. Marla Cloud, interactive site design.