On November 19, 2025, from the Congress of the Republic, the director of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (Icbf), Astrid Cáceres, referred to the risk situation in which children and adolescents find themselves in the country, who are being persecuted and recruited by armed groups outside the law.
The official’s statements arose after the death of at least 15 minors in different military operations carried out by the National Army became public.with the approval of President Gustavo Petro and the Minister of Defense, Pedro Arnulfo Sánchez. The most recent event occurred on November 10, 2025 in Guaviare, in which the Army carried out a bombing that resulted in the death of 7 minors recruited by the FARC dissidents.
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Cáceres rejected the recruitment of boys, girls and adolescents by the Jaime Martínez front of the dissidents, sending a direct message to the criminal structure, which is using minors for combat and as human shields, in order to avoid hostilities by the public force.
The director of the Icbf asked the leaders of the front to release all the minors in their possession. He recalled that many of them hope to be able to return to their homes.
“Today I make a direct call from Family Welfare. At this moment, with all the analysis of what happened and what is coming, It is necessary that they hand over the children to us and they know that they have the children and that they are holding them illegally.because those teenagers, many of them, want to return to their families and they are not leaving them,” the official said.
She clarified that both she and her team are willing to mediate and manage the release of the victims. However, he assured that this task should not be assumed solely by the ICBF. Thus, he insisted that spaces and moments be proposed for the liberation of the children.
In his opinion, their situation must be resolved promptly, taking into account that minors are at high risk, not only due to the military operations carried out by the Army against armed groups, but also due to the clashes between criminal organizations to which they are exposed.
“Set a time, a place, let’s go and receive the children or they will be exposed to what is to come, because it is true, it is not just the situation of the bombing. We have seen children in Catatumbo (Norte de Santander), in clashes between the same dissidents who have died and we have had to reconstruct its history to be able to know what happens in that,” explained the director of Icbf.
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“Let them give us the boys and girls they have in their ranks. It is not possible that they continue to expose them, the only destiny in war is death and they know it and they expose them. “No one wins in war, we all lose,” he said.
Given the death of minors in military actions, the Ombudsman, Iris Marín, asked the national government to suspend bombings against armed groups and make an evaluation of the situation, in order to prevent more children and adolescents from dying in attacks.
However, President Gustavo Petro assured that he will not put an end to this type of military operations, because it could worsen the recruitment of minors.
“If the bombings are suspended, the bosses will recruit more boys and girls, because they will realize that this will cover them from greater military risks.. In my government, the recruitment of minors has been reduced by 34%,” reported the head of state.
