Overview
- A penal tribunal sentenced 11 service members to 34 years and eight months each for enforced disappearance that led to the deaths of four minors in Guayaquil.
- Five defendants who cooperated with prosecutors received 30 months in prison, and one accused officer was acquitted.
- Judges ordered $10,000 for each family, a public apology, a ceremony recognizing state and military responsibility, and human-rights training for the convicted soldiers.
- The court also imposed a $376,000 fine and required publication of an extract of the ruling in a leading national outlet.
- The boys—Ismael and Josué Arroyo, Saúl Arboleda, and Steven Medina—were detained by two military patrols on Dec. 8, 2024, and were later found dead with charred remains near a military base, with autopsies noting gunshot wounds in at least three victims.