Eleven Ecuador Air Force Personnel Sentenced for Disappearance of Four Afro-Ecuadorian Boys in Guayaquil
Eleven air force personnel in Ecuador have been sentenced to 34 years and eight months for the forced disappearance of four Afro-Ecuadorian boys in Guayaquil. The victims—Steven Medina (11), Nehemías Saúl Arboleda (14), Josué Arroyo (14), and Ismael Arroyo (15)—were abducted on December 8, 2024, after returning from a football match in Las Malvinas.
Their bodies were found on Christmas Eve, charred and dismembered approximately 25 miles from Guayaquil. Autopsies revealed they had been killed by close-range gunshots before their bodies were burned. The trial focused on the charge of forced disappearance, with investigations into kidnapping resulting in death ongoing. The exact individuals who killed the boys have not yet been identified.
CCTV footage presented during the trial showed the boys being assaulted and forced into vehicles. The case is connected to security crackdowns during the Noboa administration, which involved air force patrols amid a declared 'internal armed conflict.' Throughout the ordeal, the victims were taunted with racist insults, stripped naked, and abandoned far from home, highlighting the vulnerability of Afro-Ecuadorian communities to abuses.
Five other personnel who confessed and cooperated with the investigation received reduced sentences of two years and six months, and one was acquitted. Defence Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo denied any military involvement. Some defendants claimed they were sent on patrols without training; one confessor, Christian Eduardo A. Q., stated explicitly that he lacked training.
