QUITO (Reuters) -Ecuador’s attorney general’s office will seek charges against 16 military personnel over their suspected involvement in the forced disappearance of four minors, it said in a message on Tuesday.
The four minors, aged between 11 and 15 years old, disappeared in the Pacific coast city of Guayaquil on Dec. 8, sparking outrage across Ecuador.
Their disappearance comes amid a government crackdown on crime, with President Daniel Noboa designating some 22 criminal gangs as terrorist organizations and declaring a series of states of emergency, allowing members of the military to patrol streets and assist law enforcement efforts.
Ecuador’s attorney general “through its specialized unit for investigating the illegitimate use of force, requests a date and time to file charges against 16 soldiers for their alleged participation in the forced disappearance of four minors in Guayaquil,” the office said in a post on X.
The Defense Ministry said in a separate post on X that the 16 soldiers belong to the Andean country’s air force, and said they have been detained and are under military stewardship.
“We’re on the side of justice, whether it was a civilian, a priest, a police officer, a military officer involved; at the end of the day people need answers,” Noboa said in an interview with local radio on Monday.
In May, the attorney general’s office said it was investigating eight extrajudicial killings allegedly carried out by security forces amid the government’s efforts to dismantle criminal gangs.
Previously, the defense minister had said the four minors, all boys, were detained by a military patrol over an alleged robbery and taken to a base in Taura before later being released.
The four boys left home to play soccer on the day they disappeared, their families have told local media.
(Reporting by Alexandra ValenciaWriting by Oliver GriffinEditing by Leslie Adler)
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