Human Rights Watch Reports Surge in Colombian Child Recruitment

A report released by Human Rights Watch on August 24, 2026, details a sharp increase in child recruitment by armed groups in Colombia, with at least 1,500 children recruited since 2021. Dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, including a holdout group led by commander Ivan Mordisco, are responsible for 74% of documented cases between 2021 and 2025. Recruitment is heavily concentrated in the southwestern state of Cauca and disproportionately affects girls and Indigenous communities.

Armed groups exploit poverty and social exclusion, using platforms like Facebook and TikTok to glorify membership through displays of wealth and "narcocorridos" music. The report highlights a disturbing trend where children are recruited for lethal tasks, including piloting explosive-laden drones to attack military bases and rivals. In the first five months of 2024, such drone attacks killed 21 people and injured 145.

Meta and ByteDance stated their policies prohibit promoting violent organizations and confirmed they removed flagged profiles. However, Human Rights Watch claims these platforms failed to stop the spread of recruitment content and in some cases appeared to promote it. Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has vowed to crack down on these groups through planned military alliances with the United States and Israel, while Human Rights Watch criticized the government for outdated and underfunded protection strategies.