Petro Defends Strikes After Deaths of Child Rebel Recruits as Critics Demand Accountability

Bogotá — President Gustavo Petro confirmed that government operations last week killed eight underage rebel recruits, part of a broader surge in child recruitment by armed groups that has reignited debate over how forcibly recruited minors should be protected during military actions.

Recent incidents and official account

In a post on X, President Petro said seven adolescents were killed in a bombing campaign in the southern Guaviare department on Nov. 10, and another minor died three days later during an operation in the eastern Arauca department. According to the president’s account, those fatalities bring teenage deaths to at least 12 in under two months.

Rising child recruitment

For decades, Colombia’s multi-sided conflict has involved government forces, paramilitary groups, leftist guerrillas and criminal organizations operating across large territories. Government figures indicate a sharp rise in the use of children by these groups: authorities say child recruitment increased by 1,000% between 2021 and 2024. A United Nations report similarly documented 474 confirmed cases of children used or recruited by armed groups from 2022 to 2024, and reported another 118 allegations in the first quarter of 2025. Some documented victims were as young as nine, and many came from Indigenous communities.

Accusations and legal questions

The deaths have provoked domestic backlash and legal questions. Opposition lawmakers have called the incidents potential violations of international humanitarian law and have proposed a motion of censure against Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez. Some members of Congress have demanded his resignation.

“All of them were victims of forced recruitment by criminals who have dragged them into hostilities and deprived them of protection,” President Petro wrote on X, emphasizing that the youngsters had been coerced into armed service.

Experts: forcibly recruited children remain protected

International and local child-protection experts stress that children forcibly recruited into armed groups retain protected status under humanitarian law. Elizabeth Dickinson, deputy director for Latin America at the International Crisis Group, said these minors are victims of conflict and must be treated as such. She warned that the presence of children in armed formations presents difficult operational and legal obligations for the state.

International law — reflected in the Geneva Conventions and related protocols — obliges states to take “all feasible measures” to ensure that children under 15 are not directly involved in hostilities. Experts say this requirement should factor into military planning where minors are known or likely to be present.

Shared responsibility and operational challenges

Hilda Molano, coordinator at the Coalition Against the Involvement of Children and Young People in the Armed Conflict in Colombia (COALICO), described responsibility for such deaths as complex and often shared. She urged all parties to prioritize children’s rights, strengthen prevention of recruitment, and expand state presence in conflict-affected areas.

Analysts note that dissident groups such as the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), a splinter from the demobilized FARC, have been singled out for recruiting minors and reportedly using them as human shields around commanders’ positions. The EMC has also been blamed for recent car bombs and drone attacks targeting security installations.

Government response and political context

The Petro administration maintains its operations comply with international law. On social media the president said his government’s actions have led to the release of 2,411 minors from armed groups and reiterated plans to continue strikes against the EMC. He also dismissed calls to halt bombardments, writing that the suggestion is “brutally naive” when operations comply with international humanitarian law.

As Colombia approaches a pivotal presidential election in 2026, the issue has become politically charged: critics use the deaths to challenge the government’s conduct, while officials emphasize the need to combat violent armed groups that recruit children.

Conclusion

The killings highlight a stark dilemma: how to protect children who have been forcibly drawn into armed groups while confronting violent actors that exploit minors. Observers call for stronger prevention, improved protections on the battlefield, rigorous investigations into civilian and child casualties, and sustained efforts to remove children from armed groups and reintegrate them into their communities.