16 Ecuadorian Air Force Soldiers Detained After Burnt Bodies of Four Missing Guayaquil Minors Found

Dec 31, 2024, 07:55 PM

Ecuadorian authorities have confirmed the deaths of four minors who disappeared after a military operation in the Las Malvinas neighborhood of Guayaquil on December 8. The burnt bodies of the youths, aged between 11 and 15, were found in Taura near a military base, and their identities were confirmed through forensic analysis. On December 31, a judge ordered the preventive detention of 16 military personnel from the Ecuadorian Air Force implicated in the forced disappearance and deaths of the boys. The minors—identified as Steven Gerald Medina Lajones (11), Josué Didier Arroyo Bustos (14), Ismael Eduardo Arroyo Bustos (15), and Nehemías Saúl Arboleda Portacarrero (15)—were last seen playing football when they were detained by military personnel during an operation. The military claim to have released them alive, but the case has sparked public outrage and calls for justice. The government has declared three days of national mourning, and there are demands for accountability within the Ecuadorian Armed Forces.