The authorities in Colombia have communicated this Wednesday that, in the last four years, at least 65 minors have died in the course of military operations against illegal armed groups, a period that coincides with the presidency of Gustavo Petro.
The data was detailed by the director of the National Institute of Legal Medicine, Ariel Emilio Cortés, in statements to the media, indicating that the majority of these approximately 65 minors were between 14 and 17 years old at the time of their death.
Cortés specified that the departments most affected by these events are Guaviare, Arauca, and Putumayo, where a large part of the deaths have been concentrated.
The head of Legal Medicine offered this information during the public accountability hearing held this Wednesday. In the same setting, sociologist and security consultant Hugo Acero Velásquez lamented that in the last five years "homicidal violence has not stopped growing without a clear policy to stop this increase."
As Acero recalled, "We went from just over 11,300 homicides in the year 2020 to nearly 15,000 homicides in the year 2025," which represents, according to his calculations, an increase of about 4,500 cases annually.
After denouncing this "permanent growth of homicidal violence" recorded in the country during the last five years, Acero warned that in 2026 "it will continue to increase," for which reason he called for "state responsibility on the part of the president, governors, mayors, and other security and justice authorities" to curb this trend.