Article: Colombia's latest weapon: art: Fernando Botero, famous for the chubby figures of his paintings, stands up to the violence devastating his homeland.(World)

At a moment when many Colombians are losing faith in their country's floundering peace process, artist Fernando Botero is taking a monumental stand against the violence.

Colombia's best-known artist has donated paintings and sculptures worth some $120 million toward what he calls the "moral renovation" of Medellin - Mr. Botero's home town, and one of the most violent cities in the Americas.

"It was a way to help Colombia and to change the face of Medellin. We wanted to show that it's not just the city of the cartels, assassins, death, and crime," says the artist who is famed for the corpulent figures of his paintings and sculptures.

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