The National Assembly of Ecuador approved this Saturday a resolution establishing December 8 as a day of national mourning in memory of the four minors found burned last week after disappearing during a military operation by the Army in the Las Malvinas neighborhood (Quito). ).
Parliament has authorized the measure with 92 votes in favor and 32 abstentions. The president of the Assembly, Viviana Veloz, has defended the importance of doing justice and fighting against impunity.
On Tuesday, December 19, four charred bodies were found near the Army air base in Taura, 30 kilometers from Guayaquil. The Prosecutor’s Office has reported in a statement that, based on forensic results, the remains correspond to the bodies of the four missing minors.
The Ecuadorian Justice has issued preventive detention for the 16 soldiers allegedly involved for alleged forced disappearance under article 84 of the Penal Code. The Prosecutor’s Office has relied on testimonies from family members and witnesses, reports from forensic experts and investigators, as well as physical evidence such as the telephone numbers of the defendants.
The Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights of Ecuador (CDH) mourned the death of both the brothers Ismael and Josué Arroyo, ages 15 and 14, and their friends, Nehemías Arboleda and Steven Medina, ages 15 and 11, respectively, who were “arbitrarily” detained by the military.
The case has once again called into question the militarization of the State by President Daniel Noboa, who decreed a state of internal armed conflict in January 2024 to combat organized crime. Since then, the Army has been involved in at least ten disappearances.