An Ecuadorean judge has ordered the arrest of 16 soldiers over the disappearance and murder of four children in Guayaquil.

The children, aged 11 to 15, went missing on December 8 after being detained by a military patrol, allegedly for suspected robbery.

The military claimed they were released the same night, but investigators later found four charred bodies near a military base, confirmed through genetic testing as the missing children.

Prosecutors may now pursue murder charges against the soldiers, the Associated Press has reported.

The case has sparked national outrage and protests, highlighting rising violence and human rights abuses amid Ecuador’s military-led crackdown on gang crime under President Daniel Noboa.

Written by B.C. Begley