Ecuador orders detention of 16 soldiers charged with the disappearance of minors

1/1/2025 6:28

An Ecuadorean judge Tuesday ordered the arrest of 16 soldiers charged with the disappearance of four children who went missing three weeks ago in the coastal city of Guayaquil.



A request to detain the soldiers was made by Ecuador’s Attorney General’s office. In a statement on X the law enforcement agency said its request had been granted, adding that the detained soldiers would be transferred from a military base to a prison.



The case of the missing children has shaken Ecuador, a nation where the military has been increasingly deployed to patrol cities and fight drug gangs amid growing levels of violence.



The children, aged 11 to 15, were reported missing by their parents on Dec. 8, after they went to play soccer in a working-class sector of Guayaquil and did not return home.