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

A new Human Rights Watch report says drug gangs and rebel groups in Colombia are increasingly recruiting children for dangerous tasks, including piloting drones carrying explosives

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 reduced violence in many parts of the country and slowed the recruitment of children by armed groups.

But child recruitment is picking up again as smaller rebel groups and other criminal organizations fight over control of rural areas abandoned by FARC guerrillas following the peace deal, where law enforcement and social services continue to be weak.

In Colombia, rebel groups have long used children to perform tasks that include serving as messengers, gathering intelligence, cooking or engaging with the enemy — while girls are sometimes forced into sexual acts with commanders.

The Human Rights Watch report says children are now also being trained in drone warfare, as rebel groups increasingly use drones outfitted with explosives to strike at rival groups or launch attacks on police and army bases.

Human Rights Watch verified videos published on social media that show children using explosives-laden drones, and interviewed family protection officers who work with children who have escaped from armed groups or have been allowed to demobilize.

“Released children who report having operated drones say that armed groups describe the activity as a game rather than as participation in armed fighting,” the report said.

Colombia’s Human Rights Defenders’ office said in a separate report published Monday that armed groups conducted 121 attacks with drones in the first five months of this year, in which 21 people were killed and 145 were injured.

Human Rights Watch identified dozens of social media accounts that “glorify” life in rebel groups, echoing a concern previously voiced by the United Nations .