An Ecuadorian court has sentenced 11 soldiers to 34 years in prison for their role in the abuse and forced disappearance of four children in Guayaquil, marking one of the country’s most serious human rights convictions involving the military in recent years.

The ruling follows a yearlong investigation into the disappearance of Steven Medina, Nehemias Arboleda, and brothers Ismael and Josue Arroyo, ages 11 to 15. The boys were last seen on December 8, 2024, heading toward a local sports field. Their burned remains were discovered weeks later, on December 31, in a remote swampy area outside the city.

According to testimony, the children were detained by a military patrol during a nationwide security operation, beaten, subjected to mock executions, forced to strip, and then abandoned naked in a dangerous rural zone. While the court acquitted the soldiers of murder, Judge Jovanny Suarez ruled that the patrol knowingly left the minors in conditions that put their lives at extreme risk.

Five additional soldiers who cooperated with prosecutors received reduced sentences of two and a half years.

The case sparked national outrage and renewed criticism of President Daniel Noboa’s militarized anti-crime strategy, known as the “Phoenix Plan.” Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, say the approach has led to a rise in enforced disappearances without significantly reducing gang violence.

Amnesty reports that at least 43 people have gone missing following encounters with Ecuador’s armed forces since 2023, raising serious concerns about accountability and the human cost of the country’s security crackdown.