Colombia’s armed groups recruit children and train them in drone warfare, rights group says

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Drug gangs and rebel groups in Colombia are increasingly recruiting children and using them to perform potentially lethal tasks that include piloting explosives-laden drones, Human Rights Watch said in a report published Monday.The international watchdog said criminal organizations in the South American country often use social media to recruit children as they try to assert control over rural areas where they profit from the drug trade, extortion and illegal mining.“Armed groups in Colombia are recruiting children with impunity,” said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “Protection systems are failing, and social media platforms have become a more effective recruiting ground."According to Colombia’s Human Rights Defenders' Office, at least 1,500 children have been recruited by armed groups since 2021, with 625 cases reported in 2024.In 1999, during the peak of the conflict between Colombia’s military and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, an estimated 1,320 children were recruited into the fighting, according to a report by a national truth commission.A 2016 peace deal between Colombia’s government and the FARC rebels r...