Who is to blame for the enforced disappearances resulting in the murder of the four children in Guayaquil by members of the Ecuadorian military?
An introspection into Human Rights violations and their aftermath in Ecuador
Abstract
This article examines the enforced disappearances of four children in Guayaquil, Ecuador, by members of the Ecuadorian military, highlighting the violation of human rights and the subsequent aftermath. It explores the timeline of events, from the children's disappearance on December 8th, 2024, to their tragic deaths, and the societal, governmental, and military responses. The article delves into the procedures for detaining minors in Ecuador, the legal and political responsibilities of the president, the military, and other state officials, and the psychological and emotional impact on the families. It also touches on the broader issue of forced disappearances in Ecuador, reflecting on societal culpability and the need for justice, accountability, and awareness of human rights. The main objective of this article is to encourage social actions to support the families of the victims in their struggle for truth and justice.
Keywords
Ecuadorian military, Human rights violations, Minors' detention, Government accountability, Military intervention, Forced disappearance, Child protection, Human rights obligations, State responsibility, Justice for victims, Social injustice, Victim's families, Human rights organizations.
About the author
Guadalupe Aizaga is an independent investigative and culture journalist currently in her third year of journalism studies. Passionate about uncovering untold stories, she focuses on in-depth reporting and cultural analysis.
This article was published on February 18, 2025.
On December 8th, 2024, in one of Ecuador´s most impoverished neighborhoods, “Las Malvinas”, four children disappeared at the hands of the military forces. Saúl Arboleda, Steven Medina, Ismael and Josué Arroyo were returning home from a soccer training session when they were apprehended by the military and they were never seen again. A few weeks later, on December 20th, despite the silence of more than fifteen days on the part of the government, suddenly the Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa proposed declaring the four children as “national heroes”.
So, it would appear that history repeats itself. The enforced disappearances of these children have once again opened a social wound among Ecuadorians. In the same way, on January 8th, 1988, Santiago and Andrés Restrepo disappeared one morning, detained by the Ecuadorian National Police. With 11 months and 36 years of difference, the disappearance of minors occurred again, they were victims of the actions of government officials.
How is it possible that, after so many years, the similarities between both cases are conceivable? This situation opens up a debate about who is to blame? and why is it necessary to hold someone responsible?
Are the military guilty?
The first version given by the military was that the children were seen stealing, however the kids were released moments later. According to the report, approximately 11 minors were together in the training session. After playing soccer, they went to the “Mall del Sur” to buy some bread from Colombian merchants. It was at that moment that the arrest occurred: patrols arrived at the place, gunshots were heard in the air and four of them were captured. The other seven managed to flee the scene.
A video on social networks went viral days later, showing the children being loaded into the patrol car.
One of the victims' fathers, Luis Arroyo, told one of the local media networks, Primicias, that he received a phone call from his son Ismael, indicating their whereabouts. The call was made from an unknown number. Therefore, he called ECU911, which is the number used for national emergencies, but by the time they responded, the children had already disappeared.
After that, the military members that took part in the minors' arrest claimed that they left them alive, thus denying any responsibility for their deaths. Initially, the case was handled by the Federation for the Fight Against Transnational and International Organized Crime (FEDOTI) and then transferred, on December 22nd, to the Specialized Prosecutorial Unit on Unlawful Use of Force.
What is the procedure that the Armed Forces need to follow in these kinds of cases?
Ecuadorian Human Rights Ombudsman is the institution in charge of guaranteeing access to justice for people in vulnerable conditions who cannot afford a private attorney. It highlights that a teenage offender cannot be held in preventive detention for more than 90 days. Besides, the adolescent must be immediately presented to the Juvenile Justice Prosecutor, accompanied by a detailed report on the circumstances of his detention, along with the available evidence and the identification of both the witnesses and the agents who carried out the apprehension. Within a maximum period of 24 hours. In addition, his legal situation must be determined by the competent Judge, either the Judge for Juvenile Offenders or, in his absence, the Family Judge in cantons where there is no such specialized authority
Furthermore, the procedure for the detention of minors in Ecuador is governed by the General Organic Penal Code of Ecuador and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In the country, the deprivation of a minor's freedom is only applied as a last resort and must be authorized with a warrant issued by a judge.
In accordance with the “Protocol of action in infractions committed within the educational system”, which is also mentioned in the General Organic Penal Code of Ecuador:
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“10.1 Whenever a minor is arrested, the arrest shall be notified immediately to his/her parents or guardian, and when such immediate notification is not possible, the parents or guardian shall be notified as soon as possible.”
As a result, the actions taken that day are improper. The military officers indicated that they released the children because there was no formal complaint in progress. This does not explain why they left them abandoned far away from their homes or why they did not notify their relatives.
In particular, this protocol is known to the National Police, and other entities in charge of arrests. Currently, the military´s duties do not include the detention of minors, under the circumstances, the military did not have adequate training for the detention of young offenders. So, if the military had not been patrolling the streets that day, would the children have been otherwise detained by the police strictly following the protocol?
Is the president guilty?
Due to increased crime in Ecuador, the president Daniel Noboa declared an “internal armed conflict” within the country to confront 22 criminal groups considered “terrorists”. As a consequence of this decision, the country was in a state of emergency.
Although the formal deployment took place on December 10th, the authorities had already increased the presence of security forces in some areas, given the growing violence and criminal gang activity. This was due to previous security operations and intensive measures implemented prior to the formal declaration of armed conflict. This measure facilitated a more intensive military intervention in several provinces hit by violence, including Los Ríos, Guayas, Manabí, Orellana, Santa Elena, El Oro and Sucumbíos.
In his analysis of violations of human rights, Erick Guapizaca, doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.), concluded that in Ecuador, the president, ministers and the military high command are ultimately responsible for the actions of the State in the field of human rights. During a state of emergency, the State's obligation is not nullified, but rather intensified due to the extraordinary nature of the measures adopted. While the military can be criminally prosecuted for acts such as: torture or deprivation of life, the president can assume a political responsibility. In addition, the Inter American Court of Human Rights (CIDH) determined that arbitrary detention of children it is itself cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. This is further aggravated by the heightened vulnerability and psychological impact suffered by children when held clandestinely by the State.
According to the CIDH statement, the detention of minors by the military is already a questionable act and constitutes a crime. Although the authorities claim that they only temporarily detained them before releasing them, such detention is itself illegal.
In Ecuador, increasing militarization has directly impacted the civilian population and, if this practice becomes normalized, the risk of systematic human rights violations might increases. Erick Guapizaca underlines that the State has an obligation to investigate and punish these abuses, as well as to provide reparations to the victims and establish measures to prevent the recurrence of such acts in the future.
Eventually, on December 24th the discovery of the bodies was reported, but the family still held out hope that they were not the young men and that they would return alive. Still, on December 31st the identities of the four disappeared children were confirmed.
“They were found in a cadaverous, decomposed, and burned state. Moreover, my eldest son had no head. The rest were purely anatomical pieces. My son Josué only had a finger from one hand and a small piece of his face and hair. They were unrecognizable,” said Luis Arroyo.
They are not only looking for a conviction of the direct culprits; their familes are looking for answers. Why were they abandoned? Why were they tortured? And that is what hurts them the most, the silence. The silence of the president, who at the national level in the midst of the re-election debate was asked to mention the names of the kids and ask for a public apology. His response was “that is not a question”.
Are the parents guilty?
The report of the Public Defender's Office of Ecuador declared that in 2023, 4339 cases of counseling services of adolescents in conflict with the law were registered.
Compared to the number registered in 2022, there has been an increase of 15.55%. This generates concern in the Institution, because it is presumed that this would be the consequence of the increase in crime in the country.
How is it possible that young people find more attractive to join criminal gangs rather than to have access to professional carrer? That is the Ecuadorian reality, crime is now a viable option. Actually, there are no job security, murders are taking place every day, therefore, fear is a constant. The children came from a low-income social and economic background, that is why for many people it was coherent that they were arrested for stealing. Even if the circumstances had been those, there is a protocol that was not followed.
What could the parents do? In response to this label of 'criminals' imposed on the children, BBC News created a profile for each of them. Where they show their passions they had, their humanity, and their innocence. Because they were students, Josue even had excellent grades. And yet they were still blamed for being killed.
Why were doing so late at night? Many people on social media asked, while no longer calling them thieves, blamed the parents for their lack of supervision. How could kids between the ages of 11 and 15 hang out in such a dangerous neighborhood at that time? The irony is that it was their routine, they had never been victims of criminals, and those who took them away are supposed to serve and protect.
Are they still guilty for playing soccer with their friends? For doing so at the only time that they were available for training? They are no only the victims of the state, but also of the society. The stained names of the 4 children represent a dagger for their families, who ended up being indirect victims of the enforced disappearances.
Is the society guilty?
“They were not firewood to be burned, we do not want revenge, only justice” said one of the family members at the rally in Quito.
This case draw tha society's attention back to missing people cases. In Ecuador, this struggle to find relatives who have not returned home has been going on for years. There are organizations such as the Association of Relatives and Friends of Disappeared People in Ecuador (ASFADEC) that have struggled to search for the remains of their loved ones.
Juliana Campoverde was a young Ecuadorian woman who disappeared in 2012 in Quito. Her case became an emblem of the fight against impunity, since years later it was proven that she was the victim of a femicide perpetrated by an evangelical pastor who never returned her body. Before her case the country used to operate under the premise “If there is no body, there is no crime”, with her it was no longer like this. Thanks to the effort and circumstances this has been modified. But there are still many legal loopholes. These organizations are run by volunteers, which makes the work even more complicated and unsustainable in some cases. As ASFADEC's president, Lidia Rueda, mentions, people do not care about the missing unless it is a person close to them.
Now it is important to know the protocols for filing a formal complaint, that even children know their rights as they are the most vulnerable people. For Lidia, these campaigns should be carried out in educational environments, creating awareness and not just fear.
According to Asfadec, these are the numbers of formal complaints, ongoing investigations, and disappearances that ended in death.
What can we do as society to help?
There are several things that can be done as a society, to be informed about how to act when a disappearance occurs, to know the rights and laws, to promote campaigns. But the company and support to the families’ victims of an enforced disappearance are really important.
Psychologists Alejandra Chamorro and Maria Belen Armas explained that the mourning of a disappearance is complex. The human being needs rituals to close stages, a "closure". In the case of mourning, funerals are performed, for this purpose the body is placed in coffins and wakes are held. In the case of enforced disappearances this is complicated, because in many cases the remains are not recovered. As in the case of Juliana Campoverde, or that of the Restrepo brothers, whose sister after 37 years is still demanding justice.
In the case of disappearances, and other crimes, it must be understood that there are two types of victims, the direct victims: for example, the disappeared themselves, and the secondary victims: the relatives of the disappeared. Although some people possess skills and resources that enable them to cope with stressful situations, others may be psychologically affected by the same experiences. This is why psychological accompaniment throughout the entire process of an enforced disappearance is so important.
Despite the fact that the crime occurred in Guayaquil, there have been protests throughout major cities in Ecuador to demand justice for the four missing children. These meetings have been organized by the family and friends of the kids. As they come from an Afro-Ecuadorian culture, the results are: rituals, dances and chants, where they ask the souls of the children to rise despite their brutal end.
Who is the culprit?
It is important to recognize the guilt of all those involved. Not only of those who carried out the criminal acts, but also of those who have ignored the Ecuadorian reality. Those who decide to blame everyone and do not evaluate what they can do to make a change.
Do the Ecuadorians have to teach their children how to act in case they arrested now? Is it normal that a 11-year-old child has to know this information? The answer is yes. In conclusion, Ecuador has been consumed by violence and injustice, and now it is everyone's obligation to be informed, to ask for justice because there is no certainty who will be the next victim of an enforced disappearance.
References
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Carolina, B. R. A., & Alejandra, C. O. R. (2024). Estrés Postraumático y calidad de vida en familiares de personas desaparecidas. Repositorio Digital UCE. https://www.dspace.uce.edu.ec/entities/publication/904b382d-2ff4-47df-8cf5-4f1cda82689b
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