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Ecuador Confirms Charred Bodies of Four Minors, Orders Preventive Detention for 16 Military Personnel

Dec 31, 2024, 10:12 PM

The Ecuadorian Attorney General's Office confirmed that the charred bodies found last week near a military base in Taura belong to four minors who disappeared after being detained by soldiers on December 8 in Guayaquil. The minors, identified as Steven Medina, Nehemías Arboleda, and brothers Ismael and Josué Arroyo, aged between 11 and 15, were playing football in the Las Malvinas neighborhood when they were apprehended by a military patrol. A judge ordered preventive detention for 16 military personnel involved in the case, who are being investigated for the alleged forced disappearance of the minors. The National Assembly of Ecuador declared three days of institutional mourning following the confirmation of the minors' murder, urging the government to apply the full weight of the law in this case.