The appeal hearing was held on Wednesday amid controversy over the leak of a video from the case file, but the final decision is expected to be issued on Thursday.

Attorney Jesús López suggested that the children may have been involved in suspicious activities before their arrest, but the Prosecutor’s Office clarified that the video does not change the direction of the investigation.

Attorney Fernando Bastias, representative of the families of the minors, indicated that the recording does not provide elements other than those already investigated nor does it change an “arbitrary detention” of which there were no reports or notification to a higher authority. “The video only seeks to generate doubts in public opinion,” he considered.

The four minors were arrested on December 8th, 2024 in a military operation and then transferred to the Taura parish, in the Naranjal canton, where they were allegedly tortured and disappeared.

The charred bodies of Ismael and Josué Arroyo (15 and 14 years old), Saúl Arboleda (15) and Steven Medina (11) were found on December 24 in a remote area.

The uniformed men linked to the incident have been imprisoned since December 31, 2024 in the Latacunga prison, in Cotopaxi, after charges were filed against them and a 90-day period of fiscal investigation was opened.

This Thursday’s judicial resolution will be key in a process that has put the use of force by the military in the context of the state of exception and the declaration of internal armed conflict at the center of the debate.

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