16 Ecuadorian Soldiers Sent to Preventive Detention for Forced Disappearance of Minors

Young people demand justice for the disappearance of four Black children, Guayaquil, Dec. 31, 2024. X/ @Espinosabryanp

December 31, 2024 Hour: 1:55 pm

On Dec. 8, soldiers arrested four Black boys in Guayaquil and took them to the Taura military base.

On Friday, the Prosecutor’s Office requested preventive detention for 16 Ecuadorian soldiers involved in the disappearance of four black children who were arrested in the Malvinas neighborhood, in the coastal city of Guayaquil, on December 8.

After presenting evidence gathered against the military, Christian Farez, the prosecutor of the Unit for the Unlawful Use of Force, asked Judge Dennis Ugalde to prosecute the soldiers for the crime of “Forced Disappearance.”

This new case of human rights violation occurred on the night of Sunday, December 8, after brothers Ismael and Josue Arroyo, 15 and 14 years old, and their friends Saul Arboleda, 15, and Steven Medina, 11, went out to play soccer.

The soldiers arrested the four boys when they were walking near a shopping center and took them to the Taura military base, which is controlled by the Ecuadorian Air Force (FAE) and is located 30 kilometers from Guayaquil.

#URGENTE
En el Complejo Judicial Sur de Guayaquil, familiares y allegados a los niños desparecidos manifiestan las consignas: "Son niños, no terroristas" o "Vivos los queremos". @EcuavisaInforma #LosCuatroDeGuayaquilEcuador #VivosLosLlevaronVivosLosQueremos #vivoslosqueremos pic.twitter.com/zBf0II00m1
— Radio Dinámica Ecu (@RadioDinamicaE) December 31, 2024

The text reads, “In Guayaquil’s South Judicial Complex, relatives and friends of the disappeared children shout slogans such as ‘They are children, not terrorists’ or ‘We want them alive’.”

Previously, 41 social organizations related to the defense of human rights recalled that, since President Daniel Noboa declared an “internal armed conflict” in January 2024, the Armed Forces have been denounced in multiple cases of torture, extrajudicial executions and mistreatment.

“The forced disappearance of the four children from the Malvinas is part of systematic events that are occurring throughout the country. Therefore, social organizations demand to investigate all complaints of human rights violations that occurred in 2024,” the Pichincha Comunicaciones outlet reported.

“They also asked the Prosecutor’s Office and justice institutions to rigorously and expeditiously comply with the judicial investigation to establish responsibilities in the existing cases,” it added, noting that social activists also ask to hold President Noboa accountable “for the serious human rights violations.”

#Ecuador 🇪🇨 | A video is circulating on social media in which soldiers detain and mistreat one of the four children who are still missing in #Guayaquil, while another was already in the pick-up truck pic.twitter.com/qtfwskeyli
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) December 23, 2024