Danna Urdaneta is a Venezuelan feminist writer, journalist, and poet whose work centers on the Colombian armed conflict, political violence, and grassroots movements for peace rooted in social justice. She has documented violence, displacement, and territorial control across border regions, and participated in peace dialogue tables during former Colombian president Gustavo Petro's Total Peace initiative (2022-2026). Her journalism appears in Venezuelan and Colombian alternative media outlets challenging mainstream narratives by centering the voices and experiences of affected communities—particularly women, indigenous peoples, and the rural poor. She insists on understanding armed actors, state violence, and peace processes by offering historical depth and political context.

This episode explores why Petro's peace negotiations with the ELN collapsed and Colombian conflict dynamics and Venezuela's role in them. Urdaneta pushes back against superficial characterizations of armed groups as purely criminal while documenting real abuses and human rights violations, and argues that durable peace requires addressing structural inequality, recognizing border populations' territorial legitimacy, and centering the voices of displaced communities and social movements. Urdaneta says peace depends on Venezuela and Colombia recognizing their mutual need for each other, moving beyond mediation toward genuine solidarity, and building political solutions grounded in feminist methodology and popular participation rather than elite negotiation.

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• Caritas Venezuela: caritasvenezuela.org/donaciones
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• Fundación PLAN: plan.org.co/quiero-ayudar/terremoto-en-colombia
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• UNICEF Colombia: unicef.org.co/terremoto-colombia

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