An Ecuadorian judge on Tuesday ordered the arrest of 16 soldiers allegedly involved in the disappearance of four minors 23 days ago in the south of Guayaquil, after being apprehended by soldiers.
“Based on the elements of conviction presented by #ProsecutorEc, the judge in the case dictates preventive detention for the 16 soldiers prosecuted for alleged #ForcedDisappearance,” the prosecutor’s office wrote in a message on X.
Prosecutor Christian Fárez, of the Illegitimate Use of Force Unit, presented “elements of conviction collected against those involved” and asked Judge Dennis Ugalde to prosecute the soldiers for the crime of forced disappearance, reported the Public Ministry.
The hearing for the formulation of charges took place this Tuesday morning amid the expectations of family members, friends, neighbors and members of human rights organizations, who came to the scene to show their support for the families of the minors.
The incident occurred on the night of Sunday the 8th, after brothers Ismael and Josué Arroyo, ages 15 and 14, and their friends Saúl Arboleda, 15, and Steven Medina, 11, went out to play soccer in the Las neighborhood. Malvinas, in the south of the city. The soldiers apprehended them when they were walking near a shopping center and took them to Taura, an area about 30 kilometers from Guayaquil where one of the main bases of the Ecuadorian Air Force (FAE) is located. Since that night, the whereabouts of the minors are unknown, who – according to the military – were left alive in an area of Guayaquil.
The accused remain in military custody since December 24. Judge Ugalde will determine in the next few hours whether to accept the prosecutor’s request based on the evidence presented and, if he accepts the measure, the military They should be transferred to a regular prison, told the news agency AP the criminal Ramiro Aguilar.
Initially, security authorities denied the participation of the military in the incident and attributed the disappearance to a criminal gang. However, after the dissemination of a video that captured the moment, the arrest was admitted under the argument of an alleged robbery that has been denied by the Prosecutor’s Office. According to the uniformed officers, they released the minors near a military base.
For criminal lawyer Paulina Araujo, the decision marks a milestone by beginning the “formal criminal process” against the military, “because there is no legal procedure to protect what they did,” she told the AP.
Araujo explained that The crime of forced disappearance “is so serious that it cannot be prescribed” and is among crimes against humanity. By detaining them “they were guarantors of the life and integrity of minors” and violated all the rules and codes that protect minors, he noted.
Outside the Guayaquil Prosecutor’s Office, where the hearing was held, family members, activists and citizens shouted slogans such as “You are guilty, criminal soldiers.” With posters and photos of the minors they demanded justice while minors kicked a ball in the street. “They are not terrorists, they are soccer children,” those present harangued.
A group of people with masks and signs in support of the 16 members of the Armed Forces also appeared at the site.
Uncertainty surrounding the case increased last week after the discovery of four charred corpses with signs of torture in the vicinity of the military base located on the outskirts of the port city. The identification of the bodies has not been completed.
(With information from AP and EFE)
