In a significant development for the case involving four missing children, an Ecuadorean judge has issued an arrest order for 16 soldiers implicated in their disappearance, which occurred three weeks earlier in Guayaquil.
The order came after a formal request from Ecuador’s Attorney General’s office, which confirmed on X that their plea was accepted. The authorities indicated that the detained soldiers would soon be transferred from a military facility to a correctional institution.
The incident has sent shockwaves through Ecuador, where the military has been increasingly active in patrolling urban areas in a bid to combat escalating violence related to drug gangs.
The children, aged between 11 and 15, were last seen on December 8 when they left their homes to play soccer in a working-class neighborhood but never returned.
Surveillance footage has revealed that a military patrol bus was involved, as it captured two of the children being taken away in the back of a pickup truck.
The military has acknowledged that the children were in their custody, alleging they were detained for attempting to commit a robbery.
They claimed, however, that the children were released the same night and that the gangs were responsible for their later disappearance.
Recently, detectives discovered four burnt bodies close to a military base on the city’s outskirts.
On Tuesday, the Attorney General’s office announced that DNA tests confirmed the identities of the corpses as those of the missing children, as their faces and fingerprints were too damaged for clear identification.
Prosecutors are now preparing to hold a new hearing with a judge to file additional charges against the detained soldiers, potentially including murder.
“This is a tough moment for the families,” remarked Billy Navarrete, the director of the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, a non-governmental organization closely monitoring the situation.
“We will not stop until we find truth and justice.”
The disappearance of the children has sparked protests in Guayaquil and has deeply resonated within a nation grappling with rising rates of homicide, extortion, and human rights issues.
The situation worsened in January after a high-profile gang leader escaped from prison, triggering violent riots, and shortly thereafter, another gang targeted a television station live on air, making demands from the government.
In response to the burgeoning gang violence, President Daniel Noboa’s administration has increasingly relied on military forces.
Yet, the military is now facing accusations of numerous abuses, including the disappearance of two children in Los Rios province last August and the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old at a military checkpoint in Guayaquil.
As a Guayaquil native, President Noboa is gearing up for re-election in February, promising to tackle violence and address the energy shortages plaguing Ecuador’s economy.
