QUITO, Aug 3 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — Violent deaths of children and adolescents increased 50 percent in Ecuador during the first half of 2025, equal to last year, according to official figures.
Amid the security crisis affecting this South American nation, 294 cases of child homicides have been recorded in the last six months, while between January and June 2024 there were 196.
Figures from the Ministry of the Interior released this Saturday in the local press reveal that 80 percent of the child victims were between 15 and 17 years old, with 237 of those murdered being teenagers in this age range.
Likewise, the data indicate that half of the cases of child deaths due to violence are reported in the coastal province of Guayas, followed by Los Rios and Manabi.
This situation is part of an even more complex scenario, where minors are involved in organized crime.
This year alone, more than 1,200 adolescents were arrested for alleged links to criminal gangs, and in 2024, the figure exceeded 3,500.
On June 24, the National Assembly (Parliament) approved the controversial Organic Law on Public Integrity, which increased the maximum sentence for adolescents involved in offenses linked to organized crime from eight to 15 years.
This measure raises concern among organizations such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which warned about the incorporation of regressive reforms in the juvenile criminal justice system. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA
