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December 02, 2025 – Colombia –
Colombia is facing mounting scrutiny as two parallel crises expose the country’s fragile security landscape: the killing of child rebel recruits during recent military operations and escalating threats against journalists investigating armed groups.
The controversy began after airstrikes ordered by the government of President Gustavo Petro resulted in the deaths of several minors forcibly recruited by dissident rebel factions. In early November, a bombing in Guaviare killed at least seven underage recruits, followed days later by the death of another teenager in a separate operation in Arauca. Human rights advocates say at least a dozen minors have died during security offensives over recent months. Government officials argue the responsibility lies with armed groups who abduct children and use them as fighters, noting that the minors were inside rebel encampments targeted as military objectives. But critics say these deaths contradict Petro’s earlier commitments to avoid operations that could harm children, sparking a fierce national debate on the ethics and legality of the strikes.
While the government defends its actions, another crisis has emerged: a powerful rebel grouping, the “Estado Mayor Central” (EMC), has released a video threatening investigative reporters at Caracol Noticias. The journalists had exposed alleged links between members of the armed group and political figures, as well as possible involvement in arms trafficking. In the video, hooded fighters accuse the journalists of spreading “lies and incitement,” warning them to stop their reporting — a move widely condemned as an attempt to silence the press through fear.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on the Colombian government to urgently investigate the threats and provide immediate protection to the reporters targeted. Press freedom groups say the intimidation reflects a rising trend: Colombia has seen a sharp increase in violence against journalists, with hundreds of attacks recorded in the past year. Many of these incidents involve threats, harassment, and surveillance by armed actors who seek to control narratives and suppress investigations into corruption, illicit economies, and human rights abuses.
Taken together, the killing of minors and the intimidation of the press reveal a country still struggling with the lingering shadows of armed conflict.
Reference –
Colombian rebel group threatens investigative journalists as ‘armed actors’
