A Colombian court ordered President Abelardo de la Espriella on Thursday to suspend military airstrikes against armed groups when recruited minors are at risk.
The ruling issued by a court in San Jose del Guaviare imposes a temporary suspension on aerial bombardments targeting armed organizations in the southern department of Guaviare. The measure applies whenever intelligence indicates the possible presence of children and adolescents at the targeted locations.
Guaviare is a department in southern Colombia through which the Amazon region flows. San Jose del Guaviare serves as its capital city and administrative center.
The judicial order follows two recent aerial operations ordered by De la Espriella in Guaviare that resulted in 33 deaths among dissidents of the former rebel organization FARC. On Sunday, Colombia's forensic service reported that three minors aged 15 to 16 were among the dead in the first bombing. It remains unknown whether minors were among the victims of the second attack.
FARC, officially known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, was a Marxist guerrilla group that waged war against the government for decades before signing a peace accord in 2016. Dissident factions rejected the peace treaty and continued armed insurgency.
Military strategy and presidential video
De la Espriella, who assumed power nearly a month ago, has committed to implementing a tough security policy against groups allegedly involved in drug trafficking. His strategy includes massive and lethal air bombings as well as extraditions of suspects to the United States.
On Monday, De la Espriella celebrated the airstrikes, describing the targets as criminal elements who had for decades recruited minors to transform them into combatants or human shields. Colombia's Ministry of Defense assured that the military operations complied with all legal rules.
The president also drew intense criticism after releasing a video in which he expressed satisfaction with one of the bombings he ordered, walking among approximately 20 corpses of fallen rebels covered in white sheets.
The legal challenge was brought forward by a citizen petition alleging that the government and armed forces violated the fundamental rights of minors. According to the precautionary court measure, which was reviewed by news agency Agence France-Presse, the order will stay in effect while judges evaluate the petition on its merits. Agence France-Presse is an international wire agency headquartered in Paris.
Escalating child recruitment
Child and adolescent recruitment by armed groups seeking to expand their territorial control is estimated to have intensified across Colombia in recent years.
Human Rights Watch reported that official numbers show 1,500 cases of child or adolescent recruitment since 2021. Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that investigates and documents human rights abuses globally.
Deaths of minors during military bombardments had also been reported and denounced by human rights advocacy groups under previous Colombian administrations. These included the presidency of social democrat Gustavo Petro, who held office from 2022 to 2026, and his right-wing predecessor Ivan Duque, who served from 2018 to 2022.
The court in San Jose del Guaviare will now continue examining the underlying constitutional petition to determine whether to make the suspension permanent.
