‘They began taking my friends from school’: the children being recruited by Colombia’s armed groups
‘They began taking my friends from school’: the children being recruited by Colombia’s armed groups
‘They began taking my friends from school’: the children being recruited by Colombia’s armed groups
Militias are coercing, bribing and kidnapping young people in remote areas to be fighters, drug sellers, informants or sex slaves
In Colombia, armed groups are battling for control of territory vital to the drug trade, including coca fields, and illegal mining and arms routes.
In remote and marginalised rural parts of the country, communities are more vulnerable to pressure from armed groups, who are luring children away through bribes and coercion.
Documented cases of child recruitment into armed groups rose from a few dozen in 2021 to more than 600 in 2024, according to figures from a government watchdog. It is a figure experts say vastly underestimates the real toll as many families stay silent, afraid of the consequences if they speak out.