Overview
- A Guayas criminal tribunal sentenced 11 military personnel to 34 years and eight months for the forced disappearance of four boys detained in Guayaquil in December 2024.
- Five cooperating soldiers received reduced prison terms of about 30 months, while one defendant was acquitted.
- Judges ordered reparations that include $10,000 for each family from each convicted person, public apologies, a ceremony at the Taura air base, and human-rights training for those sentenced.
- Court findings detailed cruel treatment in custody, including forced nudity, beatings with rifles, death threats, and abandonment in a hazardous area where the victims were later found burned, with gunshot wounds identified in at least three.
- Defense lawyers said they will appeal, and a separate homicide inquiry remains open to determine criminal responsibility for the deaths, as rights bodies and national authorities continue oversight.