Disappearance of four Guayaquil boys sparks claims of military involvement and slow police response

President Daniel Noboa said Sunday there will be “no impunity and no mercy” for those responsible for the possible kidnapping of four Guayaquil boys. The boys, ages 11 to 15, disappeared December 8 after they left home to play football at a nearby park.

A poster of four missing Guayaquil boys was posed on a wall in the La Malvinas neighborhood Saturday.

The parents of two of the boys claim they were approached by men dressed in military uniforms and the father of one of the boys believes the four were taken to an Air Force base 30 kilometers from Guayaquil.

On his X account, Noboa demanded that the boys, who lived in La Malvinas neighborhood in south Guayaquil, be returned alive and said all the “resources of the state” are being applied to their recovery. “All necessary efforts are being coordinated with the aim of finding the children and prosecuting those responsible for their abduction.”

The boys’ parents blame law enforcement for being slow to respond to the disappearances. “Why has it taken two weeks for the government to begin investigating this?” one of the mothers asked. “We have been demanding justice every day and only when the tv and newspapers reported it did anything happen.”

Despite the parents’ insistence that the children were taken to the Taura Air Force, police and the military command say it is unlikely military personnel were involved in the disappearances. “I do not dispute that the minors were abducted by men in uniform but there have been many cases in which criminal gang members have appeared in police and military dress to commit crimes,” says Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo. “After an internal investigation, we have told the police we believe this is the work of an organized criminal group.”

In social media comments, Loffredo said he and the military command share “the feeling of indignation and concern about the disappearance of the minors with the parents and the public,” and said he believed the children will be found safe and that the criminals responsible will be identified and prosecuted.

Both police and military command dismissed social media posts claiming three of the boys were part of the Los Lobos gang and that their disappearance was related to gang activity.

Residents of Las Malvinas claim that the government has “abandoned” their neighborhood and ignored their calls for better security and law enforcement. “This is only one of many cases where crimes have not been prosecuted here, and not even investigated,” said neighborhood leader Freddy Goya. “They have given up on us and turned us over to the drug gangs. I am pleased they are finally taking an interest in this case, but it was only after it made headlines that we received attention.”

Guayaquil Police Commander Víctor Zárate said a “thorough investigation” is underway but added he cannot yet reveal details of the case. “We must maintain confidentiality until we have reliable information we can share with the public,” he said.

Although he believes the disappearances are related to criminal gangs, he said “all avenues of investigation remain open.” If military personnel are involved, he said, they will not be protected and will be treated like all other criminal suspects.

On Sunday night, police said that four bodies found floating in a pond in the Manga Covacha Reserve, west of Guayaquil, were of men aged 20 to 40, and not those of the four boys.