On December 8, four minors disappeared in Guayaquil, in southwest Ecuador, after a football match. Initially presented as possible delinquents, the young boys – Josué Arroyo (15 years old), Ismael Arroyo (14 years old), Saul Arboleda (11 years old) and Steven Medina (15 years old) – could have been victims of a military blunder.
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A few days after their disappearance, police discovered four completely charred bodies in an isolated area of mangroves. The minors had been taken to this area near the Taura air base by an Ecuadorian air force patrol. The police had to cross muddy waters to extract the human remains, reports our correspondent in Quito, Eric Samson.
According to the authorities, in the absence of usable fingerprints, forensic doctors will have to examine the corpses to identify possible scars or traces of surgical operations allowing their identification. If this fails, DNA tests, the results of which will take several weeks, will be necessary.
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The Minister of Defense indicates that “ the young people had been released at night »
Images from surveillance cameras showed two of the boys being forced into a military van and mistreated. In a video released by the National Assembly, another teenager is seen face down in a military vehicle.
The Minister of Defense Gian Carlo Loffredo initially claimed that the minors had been kidnapped by a criminal group. Faced with the revelations, he modified his speech, declaring that “ the young people had been released at night » and that they would then have been captured by delinquents. An explanation widely contested by families and NGOs.
A national emotion
This affair caused great indignation in Ecuador. In Guayaquil and Quito, several hundred people demonstrated to demand justice and truth. “ Please give them back to us.” implored Luis Arroyo, father of the two missing brothers.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has expressed its “ deep concern “, while the UN and UNICEF called for an investigation ” exhaustive, rapid and impartial “.
Ecuadorian prosecutors raided the Taura military base, seizing soldiers’ phones and vehicles.
A case that shakes institutions
This tragedy dealt a severe blow to the image of the Ecuadorian armed forces, a central pillar of President Daniel Noboa’s security policy. Under pressure, he ordered on the social network intensification of all actions necessary to locate the four children and to find all those responsible so that they answer for their actions before the courts and the country “.
Long considered a haven of peace between Colombia and Peru, the main exporting countries of cocaineEcuador has seen violence explode in recent years. Rival gangs linked to Mexican and Colombian cartels are fighting to take control of trafficking in the country, which has become a major sieve for drug production.
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