Colombia is grappling with a thorny dilemma: how to strike armed criminal groups from the air without killing the children those groups have forced into their ranks.
In just one month under new president Abelardo De La Esperilla, the military carried out three airstrikes—so-called “Beta-type operations”—that killed 36 members of dissident guerrilla factions and the National Liberation Army (ELN). Among the dead were six minors. While responsibility for those deaths legally falls on the armed groups that forcibly recruited the children, the deaths have reignited a national debate over bombing sites when authorities can’t be certain no minors are present.
A judge recently ordered a precautionary suspension of strikes in cases where military intelligence lacks clear information about who might be harmed, a ruling now under review by higher courts. Under international humanitarian law, minors who actively participate in armed groups’ operations are considered legitimate military targets, though the armed forces have adopted protocols meant to minimize risk to them.
Critics note that the previous government’s decision to halt airstrikes, citing child protection, backfired: warlords such as “Mordisco” and “Calarcá” intensified recruitment of children—especially from Indigenous communities—using them as human shields. Colombia’s Ombudsman’s Office recorded 1,171 recruitment cases between 2024 and 2026, with complaints up 146 percent this year alone; 62 minors died in strikes under the last administration.
Read the full investigation at El Tiempo.
Source: Bombardeos: el debate por la presencia de menores reclutados en campamentos de los grupos armados (eltiempo.com). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: US Army Africa, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).