IACHR condemns the murder and torture of the four children in Guayaquil

The ruling calls for the urgent clarification of the crime and strongly requests that the Ecuadorian State protect the lives of all people, regardless of their social or ethnic status.

January 26, 2025 by Pablo Meriguet
Rally outside prosecutors office in Guayaquil demanding the immediate return of the four disappeared children. Photo: CDH Guayaquil.

On January 22, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a ruling on the disappearance, torture, and subsequent murder of four children in Guayaquil at the end of last year. In a statement, the Court declared: “The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemns the disappearance and subsequent murder and incineration of the bodies of 11-year-old Steven Medina and adolescents Josué Arroyo, 14, Saúl Arboleda and Ismael Arroyo, 15, in Guayaquil, Ecuador.”

In addition, the IACHR demanded that the incident be investigated until both the perpetrators and orchestrators of the crime are found: “The State must investigate, prosecute, punish and repair the facts with due diligence, ensuring that the possible responsibility of military personnel is verified and clarified, strengthening the investigative actions that have already been undertaken.”

Global condemnation and calls for justice

Amnesty International echoed the condemnation, and published on X: “We join the calls for justice for the forced disappearance and subsequent murder of 4 children in Guayaquil in December 2024. The Ecuadorian authorities must guarantee access to justice for the victims. This means investigating, prosecuting, and punishing all those responsible. This tragic event highlights the risks of a militaristic approach to public security.”

This concern has been also been voiced by Luis Pedernera, rapporteur of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, who has classified the case of the four murdered children as a case of forced disappearance, torture, and execution. According to Pedernera, this case is not an isolated event but reflects a pattern of violence against the inhabitants of impoverished and racialized neighborhoods in the Guayas and Esmeraldas provinces.

A national tragedy

On December 8, the four minors were apprehended in the neighborhood of Las Malvinas, south of Guayaquil, by a military contingent, after which their whereabouts became unknown. One of the children managed to call his parents from an unknown number, pleading for help. However, when the parents arrived in Taura, where their children were supposed to be, they found nothing.

On December 25, Ecuadorian Police found four mutilated and burned corpses that days later were confirmed to belong to the missing children. That same day, a judge granted a writ of habeas corpus confirming the hypothesis of forced disappearance. Currently, 16 members of the military are being prosecuted for the crime. However, their lawyers have insisted that while the soldiers did apprehend the children, they released them a few minutes later.

The case has sparked national outrage, particularly due to the participation of military forces and the ambiguous initial statements made by officials. At first, President Daniel Noboa requested that the four children be declared “national heroes” even though their whereabouts at the time were unknown. The social trauma of the case was evidenced in the last presidential debate, in which one of the candidates (Francesco Tabacchi) asked Noboa, as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, to apologize to the country for the disappearance of the children’s death. Noboa evaded the question and continues to avoid responsibility for the issue.

A controversial apology threatens judicial independence

Who did have to apologize publicly was the Secretary of Defense, Gian Carlo Loffredo, by order of a judge, although he did so in a threatening manner against the judge, which was widely criticized: “Madam Judge… we will go to the ultimate consequences to sanction your actions… I will not allow your sentence to be used to bring to its knees the armed forces that work for peace and respect for human rights… The use of the human rights narrative as an instrument of political persecution should also be investigated.”

In this regard, the same IACHR communiqué warned that “the Secretary of Defense, after issuing a public apology by order of the judge, announced that it will seek a sanction against her, considering that her actions gave way to” political persecution”; at the same time, it criticized the ”human rights narrative” against the armed forces for alleged political purposes. The IACHR recognizes the judge’s decision to grant habeas corpus as a measure aimed at the urgent search for the disappeared. For this reason, it expresses its concern about the statements of the Secretary of Defense, which may threaten judicial independence and inhibit the work of defending human rights in the country, in a context of social clamor for justice and non-repetition of the facts.”

Likewise, Luis Pedernera, said that he was extremely concerned about the national broadcast in which Loffredo threatened the judge who requested the public apology for the forced disappearance of the four children.

IACHR’s additional demands to the Ecuadorian State

The official communiqué of the IACHR requested that the State redouble its efforts in the clarification of the crime, including the implementation of measures to prevent similar incidents and to identify the persons most at risk of being unjustly punished by the Ecuadorian State. “The responsibility of State agents must be investigated and the circumstances of the murders examined, including the investigation of the possible commission of forced disappearances and extrajudicial executions. In the study of the case, the age; the ethnic-racial origin; the socioeconomic situation of the victims; as well as the humiliations caused to their bodies, which deserve to be treated with respect, should be taken into account.”

Finally, the Commission asked the government of Daniel Noboa to moderate its application of states of exception, which have become the new normal in the country: “The IACHR does not ignore the efforts made in the area of security in the framework of the successive states of exception in the country, due to the security crisis caused by organized crime groups. The use of states of exception that authorize the Armed Forces in security tasks should be extraordinary and comply with Inter-American standards; in particular, those that establish that the maintenance of internal public order and citizen security should be primarily reserved to civilian police forces, since the armed forces receive training aimed at “defeating the enemy,” and not at the protection and control of civilians.”

The murder of the four children in Guayaquil has ignited a national and international outcry, drawing attention to the dangers of militarization in public security. The case not only demands justice for the victims but also raises broader concerns about human rights, government accountability, and the role of military forces in civilian affairs. The IACHR and human rights organizations continue to push for a thorough investigation, judicial independence, and meaningful reforms to prevent future tragedies.