A judge in Bogotá ordered the State this Thursday to suspend bombings against targets where there is information about the possible presence of boys, girls, and adolescents recruited or used by illegal armed groups. The decision of the 34th Family Court of Bogotá comes upon admitting a tutela filed on behalf of minors who are in areas where they could be reached by aerial operations of the Public Force. The order is directed to the Presidency, the Ministry of Defense, and the Military Forces who, while the judge makes a substantive decision, must refrain from carrying out airstrikes. Before doing so, they must also verify what measures can be taken to protect the minors and establish if there is a less harmful alternative.
In its first three weeks, the government of Abelardo de la Espriella has carried out three bombings. The first, just three days after the president’s inauguration, was executed on the night of August 10 against ELN structures in the Catatumbo subregion; the second, on August 27, against the dissidents of alias Calarcá Córdoba in Guaviare, under the name Operation Amón; and the third, named Azarías, on August 30, against the dissidents led by Iván Mordisco, in the same department. Authorities have confirmed that at least four minors have died in the first two operations, as well as one of the men that De la Espriella has prioritized as targets of the actions.
Despite the presence of adolescents, the Minister of Defense, retired General Jorge Mora, has defended the operations. The politician has argued that the men under his command complied with all the legal standards required for an airstrike, both in its planning and execution, and that the deceased adolescents were in what the Military Forces call “continuous combat function,” the category with which a member of an armed group, regardless of age, is considered a legitimate military target.
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The death of minors amid bombings is not a new phenomenon in Colombia, nor is it insignificant. According to figures from Legal Medicine, during Iván Duque’s government, 42 boys, girls, and adolescents died in military operations, which at the time sparked a strong public debate that even led to the resignation of one of his Defense ministers, Guillermo Botero, when a motion of censure against him was advancing. During Gustavo Petro’s government, a strong critic of those operations under his predecessor, the number rose to 62. Some of the most controversial cases were the death of eight minors who died in an attack in Caquetá in 2019, which caused the departure of then Minister Botero, and at least seven adolescents killed in Guaviare in 2025, after a bombing ordered by Petro.
In its decision, the admission order of the tutela action filed by lawyer Ower Jimmy Borda as an unofficial agent of the minors who may be at risk, the judge reminded the authorities of the principles of distinction, precaution, and proportionality of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), and the obligations to protect children in the context of armed conflict. The measure does not suspend all bombings generally, but specifically operations against targets where there is information about the presence of boys, girls, or adolescents recruited or used by armed groups.