Six siblings, five of them minors, were rescued by the Army in the Caqueta jungle, in southern Colombia, after spending several days in hiding to avoid being recruited by an illegal armed group.
The children fled after men from a dissident faction of the former FARC, under the command of alias Calarca, arrived in their family environment with the intention of taking them, in what would have been another case of child recruitment.
The case once again exposes the persistence of forced recruitment in regions where the conflict remains active, following the emergence of various illegal armed groups that arose after the demobilization of the FARC a decade ago.
While their parents were being held by the armed group, the minors entered the jungle and survived in extreme conditions, amid fear and uncertainty, until they were located by Army troops.
Children rescued after hiding from FARC dissidents in the Colombian jungle
“In the La Ilusión hamlet, in the general area of Cartagena del Chaira, we managed for that troop—properly trained, highly motivated, and well equipped—to carry out an infiltration to the point where the minors were,” explained General Edilberto Cortes, commander of the Army’s Sixth Division, to the local outlet Blu Radio earlier this morning.
The military chief explained that “around 3 a.m. we managed to make contact with the minors who were hiding in dense undergrowth in the jungle, and the two boys under 16 were the ones who came out to the meeting point with our soldiers.” Cortes added that once the two brothers who approached the troops were located, “they led us to where the other girls were: an 18-year-old young woman and three minors.”
With this, Caqueta Governor Luis Francisco Ruiz concluded that “in total there are five minors recovered, and one adult, an 18-year-old young woman.”
At the time of the rescue, the minors showed signs of exhaustion but were out of immediate danger. They were later taken to a safe location, where they received medical care and support from authorities.
This situation has reignited controversy over the arrest warrant against the leader of this group, known as alias Calarca, which remains suspended due to the dialogue process the illegal armed group previously opened with the government. Following this development, many voices in Colombia are calling for the immediate reinstatement of the arrest warrant against this individual.
The anguish of a pursuit through the jungle
The armed group’s pressure on the family occurred in a rural area of this department, where dissident factions maintain a presence and territorial control. According to known accounts, the armed men were seeking to take the minors, forcing their parents to make an urgent decision: hide them in the jungle before they could be found.
Shortly afterward, the adults were detained, leaving the six siblings completely alone. With no alternative, the children moved through the vegetation to avoid being located. For several days they walked long distances, hid in different locations, and faced the challenges of the Amazon jungle, with limited access to food and water.
The ages of the five minors, ranging from 3 to 16, made the situation even more critical, despite the fact that the eldest is over 18. Survival under those conditions depended both on their ability to stay together and on avoiding any trace that could reveal them to the armed group.
The disappearance of the minors triggered a search operation by the Army, which deployed units in the area to find them. The efforts unfolded in a complex environment marked by the density of the jungle and the presence of illegal armed structures.
Soldiers followed leads on possible routes and areas where the children might have taken refuge. After several days of tracking, they managed to locate them alive in the jungle.
“There was always guidance from the father to his children so they would remain hidden in the jungle, near the house where they lived. They stayed there and there was constant communication, giving them instructions and key words to locate the site, the exact coordinates of where they were. Thank God we arrived before the bandits; otherwise, the story would have been different,” General Cortes added.
The backdrop of forced recruitment
The case once again brings to the forefront one of the most persistent practices of Colombia’s armed conflict: the recruitment of minors. Despite the peace agreement signed in 2016, several dissident FARC structures continue to operate in regions such as Caqueta.
These armed groups maintain illegal economies and seek to strengthen their ranks, often resorting to children and adolescents from rural communities. Reports of forced recruitment have been recurrent in areas where the state presence is limited.
The structure led by alias Calarca has been identified in various reports as exerting pressure on the civilian population. Its activity in the south of the country reflects the continuation of dynamics of violence that directly affect rural families.
The rescue of the six siblings prevented a tragic outcome, but it also highlights the vulnerability of those living in territories marked by the presence of armed groups. The decision to hide the children in the jungle was a desperate response by parents facing a real threat.
In regions such as Caqueta, many families continue to face the risk of losing their children to forced recruitment. The lack of security conditions and the pressure from illegal structures continue to shape daily life.
Although the Army operation succeeded in bringing the minors to safety, the case confirms that the problem persists. The war—transformed but ongoing—continues to impact the most vulnerable, even amid efforts to consolidate peace.