Genetic testing of charred remains found near an Ecuadorian military base has confirmed they belong to four boys taken by soldiers three weeks ago, authorities said Tuesday.
The disappearance of the boys, aged between 11 and 15, sparked protests in South America, which is in the midst of an armed conflict between North and South. drug gangs and security forces.
Brothers Saul Arboleda, Steven Medina, Josue Arroyo and Ismael Arroyo went missing on December 8 while playing soccer in the western city of Guayaquil.
“Forensic genetic testing has confirmed that the four bodies found in Taura correspond to the three teenagers and one boy who went missing after the December 8 military operation.” , Ecuador’s public prosecutor’s office wrote on social media.
An unverified video released by Ecuador’s parliament appears to show a group of soldiers putting one of the minors in a car and beating him, while the other is left face down.
Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo said the soldiers on patrol were responding to a call for help in connection with a robbery.
The military says the children were released the same night they were captured and that gangs are responsible for their disappearances, according to the Associated Press.
Cesar Muñoz/AP
The incident sparked widespread outrage in Ecuador, where kidnappings, extortion and murders are now commonplace.
The father of one of the boys said his family received a phone call the night they disappeared, and Ismael answered the phone call. The boy said soldiers chased them, took them away and beat them.
Relatives then received two locations via WhatsApp, one in Taura town, which is home to a military air force base, and the other near a shrimp farm.
An anonymous caller told the family that criminals had taken the boys.
On December 24, the charred bodies of four people were found near Taura Air Base, raising concerns that they were the missing boys, but officials said at the time that DNA tests were needed. .
A statement from the prosecutor’s office on Tuesday confirmed that the body was that of the young man.
Authorities searched the Taura base early last week and seized the cellphones of 16 soldiers suspected of being involved in the disappearances, as well as a vehicle used to transport minors.
On Tuesday, the soldiers who had been in military custody were ordered detained by a criminal court.
The boys are being investigated on suspicion of forced disappearance, and if found guilty, they face up to 26 years in prison.
Soldiers detained the boys for a short period of time before releasing them into the area, where they claimed all four were alive and in good health.
The Ministry of Defense said in a statement on behalf of the government that it “deeply regrets” that the remains have been confirmed to be those of the missing youth.
He added: “We reaffirm our commitment to the truth and ensure that this case is handled with full transparency until we find the perpetrator of this murder.”
Dozens of relatives, neighbors and activists waved placards and protested outside the courthouse demanding the soldiers’ jailing.
Santiago Arcos/Reuters
Last January, President Daniel Novoa declared: State of “internal armed conflict” After a wave of brutal violence caused by the jailbreak of a powerful crime boss.
It was after that that there was movement. An armed group attacked and opened fire. A mob at a television studio threatened to randomly execute civilians and security forces. Afterwards, the prosecutor investigating the assault case shot dead.
