ALLEN PANCHANA

Protesters shout as lawyers enter court for a hearing for the soldiers accused of being connected to the disappearance of four children in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Cesar Munoz)
Ecuador orders the detention of 16 soldiers charged with the disappearance of 4 children
An Ecuadorean judge has ordered the arrest of 16 soldiers charged with the disappearance of four children who went missing three weeks ago in the coastal city of Guayaquil.
 
A mural of a child and the Spanish message "Where are they?" cover a wall in protest of the disappearance of four children who were last seen on Dec. 8 running away from a military convoy in Guayaquil, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Cesar Munoz)
Investigation of disappearance of children in Ecuador was delayed for days despite video evidence
A probe into the military’s role in the disappearance of four children in Ecuador this month was delayed for almost two weeks, even though police had access to surveillance videos implicating soldiers in the disappearance.
 
People embrace during a protest in front of the prosecutor's office following the disappearance in Guayaquil of four children who were last seen running away from a military convoy, in Quito, Ecuador, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Noriega)
Ecuadorian police probe if bodies found are of missing children allegedly taken by soldiers
Ecuadorian police have found an undisclosed number of bodies in an area close to a military base. Authorities are now probing if the bodies could be those of some of the four children who were last seen taken by men in military uniform earlier this month.
 
Luis Arroyo, left, carries photos of his two missing sons, Ismael and Josué, who were last seen on Dec. 8 running away from a military convoy with two other youths, as he protests with his family and activists outside the prosecutor's office in Guayaquil, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Cesar Munoz)
Surveillance videos appear to show 2 of 4 missing Ecuadorian kids taken by men in military uniform
Surveillance videos have emerged from the Ecuadorian coastal city of Guayaquil, showing men in military uniform grabbing two boys and driving them away.
 
Police evacuate staff from the TC public television station after a group of armed men broke onto their set during a live broadcast, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. The country has seen a series of attacks after the government imposed a state of emergency in the wake of the apparent escape of a powerful gang leader from prison. (AP Photo/Cesar Munoz)
Armed men storm an Ecuador TV studio during a live broadcast as attacks in the country escalate
Authorities in Ecuador say masked men broke onto the set of a public television channel in Ecuador waving guns and explosives during a live broadcast, prompting the president to issued a decree declaring that the violence-plagued country had entered an “internal armed conflict.”