A Colombian judge sentences in absentia 11 commanders of the ELN rebel group to prison terms for recruiting children into their ranks. The sentences are for involvement in recruiting 60 children between 2004 and 2018, including children as young as 8.
The reporting focuses on the length of the prison terms and the judge’s decision to proceed without the commanders present. Both outlets describe the ELN as Colombia’s largest remaining rebel group and present the case as part of a broader legal response to the recruitment of minors by armed groups. The coverage concentrates on the scale of the recruitment and the timeline of the alleged crimes, rather than on additional details such as specific sentence lengths or the commanders’ identities.
Overall, the outlets agree on the number of commanders sentenced, that the proceedings occur in absentia, the approximate count of children recruited, and the years during which the recruitment allegedly took place.
