Vidas borradas

Vidas Borradas is a special project by Efecto Cocuyo linked to Instinto de Vida, an initiative focused on reducing firearm-related homicides in Latin America. The project set out to make visible the complex grief caused by violent deaths in Venezuela, where homicide does not only affect those who are killed, but also the families, neighbours and communities left behind.

Alongside experienced journalists Vanessa Moreno Losada and María Victoria Fermín, I supported the reporting, investigation and writting. We reported across six Venezuelan parishes with some of the country’s highest crime rates, the project documented how violence erases life projects, fractures communities and deepens fear in places where justice often feels out of reach. In one of the most violent countries in the world, Vidas Borradas asks what remains after a life is taken: grief, silence, anger, memory, and the unfinished demand for accountability.

Through human-centred reporting, the project moved beyond homicide figures to show the wider emotional and social impact of armed violence. It is a story about absence, but also about the people who continue naming, remembering and resisting indifference.

Although the project is no longer available online, other articles authored by me can be found in Efecto Cocuyo’s website.