The former leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) acknowledged before the transitional justice system that the organization recruited at least 18,677 minors between 1971 and 2016, the year of its demobilization. The admission also includes acknowledgment of sexual violence, especially against girls, and the imposition of forced abortions within its ranks.
In a document submitted to the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) — the transitional justice tribunal created after the demobilization — the former members of the leadership assumed responsibility for these crimes, classified the acts as serious human rights violations, and asked for forgiveness from the victims.
The acknowledgment comes as the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Peace Agreement with the Colombian state is marked and represents one of the most sensitive moments in the transitional justice process, which is necessary to fulfill the commitment to reveal the truth.
Colombia’s ex-FARC rebels admit recruiting 18,000 children, sexual violence
The JEP’s Recognition Chamber charged seven former members of the secretariat with war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the recruitment and use of minors.
According to the tribunal’s investigation, the practice was neither isolated nor the result of individual decisions, but part of a policy maintained for more than four decades across different fronts of the organization.
The figure of 18,677 recruited minors covers documented cases between 1971 and 2016. Many of them were under 15 years old at the time of their incorporation. Transitional justice established that the minors were employed in combat, intelligence work, transport of weapons and explosives, surveillance, and other military tasks. It also concluded that they were subjected to strict discipline, punishments, and constant control.
In their response to the charges, the former leaders accepted the central facts and recognized that the recruitment caused irreparable harm. They noted that thousands of children were uprooted from their families, deprived of their childhood, and exposed to armed violence. They admitted that these decisions violated fundamental rights and left lasting physical and psychological consequences.
Sexual violence and forced abortions
The acknowledgment included a particularly sensitive chapter: acceptance of sexual violence practices within the organization. JEP documented cases of abuse, forced relationships, and control over the reproductive lives of recruited minors. Among the most serious acts were abortions imposed as an internal norm to prevent pregnancies within the armed structure.
The former commanders admitted that these practices occurred and disproportionately affected girls and adolescents. They recognized that the imposition of contraceptive methods and the requirement to terminate pregnancies constituted forms of violence that violated the dignity and integrity of the victims. In their statement, they affirmed that these acts should never have happened and offered an apology.
For victim organizations, the admission represents progress in clarifying the truth, although it does not close the debate on individual responsibility or the full extent of the abuses. Several victims have indicated that they expect a more detailed account of what happened, including context, specific orders, and full recognition of the impact suffered.
“Nunca debió ocurrir”: Rodrigo Londoño, alias Timochenko, reconoció ante la JEP el reclutamiento de menores. https://t.co/if1kX8q65f pic.twitter.com/6f37hmY6LW
— Revista Semana (@RevistaSemana) March 2, 2026
A practice that persists in Colombia: childhood trapped in an endless war
In 2026, the forced recruitment of minors by illegal armed groups remains an alarming reality in Colombia, despite efforts by the state and the international community to eradicate it. According to figures verified by the United Nations, cases of recruitment and use of minors by these groups have quadrupled in the last five years, rising from 116 cases recorded in 2020 to 453 in 2024.
Organizations such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warn that, on average, a minor is recruited or used by an armed group every 20 hours in Colombia. This figure — which is already high — may be considerably underestimated, given that many cases go unreported due to fear of retaliation by the same illegal groups.
Dissident factions of the former FARC and the National Liberation Army (ELN) lead this practice, exploiting territorial control in rural areas where the state has a weak presence and offering incentives or using coercion to attract vulnerable minors. In addition to being used as combatants in clashes, these children and adolescents serve as messengers, informants, or mules for transporting weapons and drugs, exposing them to serious physical and psychological risks.
The consequences are devastating: loss of access to education, deep trauma, sexual abuse, and death are frequent among the victims. Although the government has rescued hundreds of minors through military operations and social programs — for example, authorities reported the release of around 447 recruited children in 2024 — the need for stronger prevention, protection, and rehabilitation strategies is urgent.
Experts warn that without sustainable public policies addressing structural causes — such as poverty, lack of opportunities, and strengthening state presence in rural areas — this form of modern slavery will continue to claim lives and destroy futures.
Prevenir el reclutamiento infantil es tarea de todos los colombianos.
Alza la voz, infórmate y actúa: proteger los derechos de las niñas, niños y adolescentes es proteger el futuro el país. Si conoces un caso, comunícate a la línea 141. #QueNoReclutenTusSueños pic.twitter.com/BYxPvwVBJO
— Fuerzas Militares de Colombia (@FuerzasMilCol) March 1, 2026
Ivan Marquez was sentenced to 37 years for killing soldiers
The acknowledgment of one of the crimes most condemned by Colombian public opinion, by the former FARC leadership, coincided with the day the ordinary courts today sentenced in absentia the leader of the Second Marquetalia, a FARC dissident group, Luciano Marin Arango, better known as alias Ivan Marquez.
Marquez was sentenced to 37 years in prison by Colombia’s ordinary justice system for the murder of four soldiers in incidents that occurred on July 2, 1997, when he was head of the Northwestern Bloc of the now extinct FARC.
The ruling by the specialized criminal court in Antioquia found him responsible for aggravated homicide, attempted homicide of a protected person, and aggravated extortionate kidnapping in an attack that left military victims.
The existence of this conviction — issued in absentia — is largely explained by Marquez’s break with the 2016 peace agreements. After participating as a negotiator in that process and the formal demobilization of FARC, he decided to resume armed struggle along with other former leaders — now all deceased — forming the Second Marquetalia and announcing his return to arms in 2019.
This act was interpreted by JEP as a serious breach of the conditionality regime established in the final agreement, which requires participants to lay down arms, provide the truth, and contribute to victim reparation. As a result, Marquez was expelled from JEP and excluded from transitional justice, losing the benefits and protections of that system and having his cases transferred to ordinary justice.
This legal distinction separates him from most former FARC leaders who remain committed to the peace process and continue to be subject to the transitional justice regime, in which their responsibilities are investigated and adjudicated through differentiated mechanisms focused on truth, reparation, and nonrepetition of the conflict.