The investigation into the disappearance of Josué and Ismael Arroyo, Saúl Arboleda and Steven Medinathe four minors captured by the military on December 8 in Guayaquilmove forward with key steps.
The Prosecutor’s Office has already received the testimony of a crucial witness: the man who allowed one of the brothers Arroyo Make a call to your parents before disappearing. This person, whose identity is kept confidential for security reasons, is emerging as a fundamental piece in clarifying the events that occurred 18 days ago.
In an interview with Radio Centerthe Minister of Defense, Gian Carlo Loffredoconfirmed that the Prosecutor’s Office has the testimony of this witness. However, the official could not reveal more details, as he noted that these statements are part of the investigative file, which is under confidentiality.
The witness would be the one who made two calls to the brothers’ father Arroyo. He would have lent his cell phone to the boys so they could ask for help, since they were abandoned, more than 40 kilometers from their homes and naked. The minor who spoke for the last time with his father described having been beaten by soldiers, who accused them of robbery: “Dad, come save me,” was her cry. The location of the boys would even have been sent by Whatsappthat December 8th. In a second call, the now witness assured that “the mafia took” to the children. This has been reported by families since the case became public.
The new unofficial details, revealed in a program on the channel’s YouTube The Post Officeindicate that the minors were taken away on motorcycles. That night, there were also motorcycles that left the Military Base of Tauraas mentioned in another video on the same channel. However, this information has not been denied or confirmed by the authorities.
The Prosecutor’s Office is handling the case under the classification of forced disappearance and has reported that the hearing to formulate charges against the 16 soldiers involved in the case is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on December 31. In this proceeding, it is expected that the accusations for forced disappearance.
Meanwhile, the results of forensic anthropology and DNA that apply to the cremated and decomposing bodies found 16 kilometers from the military base and presumed to be minors. If it is confirmed that they correspond to the boys, experts assure that the investigation could investigate the crime of extrajudicial execution.
In the aforementioned interview, Loffredo assured that “Nothing the children have done justifies why they are missing today”. He also indicated that “the patrol did not notify higher command about the procedure,” in reference to the arrest.
The minister made reference to the fact that the military said they had intervened when there was a robbery alert, however, on December 24, during the hearing to resolve a habeas corpus, the prosecutor Christian Fárezwho is leading the investigation, stated that there is no evidence that the minors have participated in any illegal act: “There is no evidence, police reports or testimonies to support the version of an alleged robbery. There is no illegal act that the children have committed”said Fárez.
The minister Loffredo He also noted that there will be no cover-up: “I am Minister of Defense, but I am also a father. I’m not going to cover for anyone. The people responsible will have to pay for their mistakes“, said. However, he mentioned that the actions of 16 soldiers cannot condition the work of the Armed Forces and assured that: “They are trying to position that the military are crazy people who go out in droves to kidnap and disappear minors.”.
Despite the statements of the Secretary of State, the Association of Relatives and Friends of Missing Persons in Ecuador (Asfadec), operational for 12 years, denounced that, in addition to the children of Guayaquil, There are five other young people and adolescents missing after military operations. Asfadec recalled that: “The disappearance of people is considered a crime against humanity, that is, a very serious crime and forced disappearance is often used as a strategy to instill terror in citizens.”
Meanwhile, a smear campaign continues on social networks that uses false photographs that are linked to missing children to try to position that they belonged to criminal groups. This was denied by the data verification portal Lupa Media, which found that images of other minors dating back to 2022 were used.
