The testimony of Rúber Cubillos, father of Caren Cubillos, a 13-year-old girl recruited by FARC dissidents and killed in a military bombing in Guaviare, shows the tragedy of the forced recruitment of minors in the country. The story collected by The informantsmakes visible the pain and helplessness of affected families in areas where there is virtually no state presence.
Caren Cubillos lived with her family in an indigenous area near La Pedrera in the Colombian Amazon. They spent their days in a rural environment characterized by lack of services, isolation and constant danger from the presence of non-state armed actors. According to her father, “my daughter was a very happy girl, she made a lot of Tiktoks, I have the Tiktoks that she even recorded out there,” she told the show.
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At the end of 2024, Caren celebrated her fifth grade graduation and dreamed of continuing her studies to help her parents.. “Her dream was so beautiful that she always said it: one day she wanted to move forward and help us as parents,” explained Ruber Cubillos.
According to the father’s statement On January 2, 2025, FARC dissident members forcibly recruited Caren and a companiona practice that, according to complaints from the United Nations (UN), primarily affects indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities in Colombia. “The situation in the area where we lived is very difficult. There is no support from some institutions so that these young people can think about a better future,” said Cubillos.
“Where my daughter lived is an indigenous territory…not owned by the state, there was virtually never a presence.”Rúber added: who denounced that the arrival of armed groups in the area was progressive and disrupted the life of the community: “We as indigenous peoples submit to this cause because there is no state presence and no support to support the family.”
Accordingly The informantsAs of 2021, the FARC’s largest dissident faction, called the Central General Staff and under the pseudonym “Iván Mordisco”, has retained control of the area.
The early morning of November 10, 2025 marked the tragic outcome. According to the Ministry of Defense Public Armed Forces planes bombed a camp of 150 guerrillas in Guaviare, killing 19 members in the attack, including seven minors. The father said he found out through social networks: “They are minors and my daughter is there. They came to me with the news that my daughter was dead.”
Caren was 13 years old. Authorities returned his body to the family after a seven-day wait at the coroner’s office in Villavicencio. The father reported: “They already gave it to me in the drawer. Some small pieces of the rest of my daughter, packed in a bag.”.
Cubillos explained that he last spoke to his daughter on June 21, 2025, when Caren managed to call from a farm and ask for help leaving the armed lines.: “She asked me for help to get her out, and no, I couldn’t. I mean, I couldn’t even get her out by asking the state for help. I couldn’t do it,” he said.
He reported that he reported the hiring in October and provided the location and recordings of the conversations with the minor. After the complaint, the next thing he heard was the news of the bombing and Caren’s death. “It was only seven days ago that I found out that my daughter was dead, but I still haven’t gotten over that either. And yes, I also feel guilty because I didn’t help my daughter get out of it,” he confessed.
The Defense Minister, Pedro Sánchez confirmed that there was a high probability of the presence of minors at the military objective and defended the operation, claiming that there was an imminent threat to the soldiers stationed in the area..
The Office of the Ombudsman and the United Nations have reiterated that the forced recruitment of minors is a violation of international humanitarian law. The Geneva Protocol II prohibits minors under the age of 15 from taking part in hostilities.
According to the UN, more than 1,200 minors were recruited in Colombia between 2019 and 2024. The story of Caren Cubillos joins a long list of victims of a practice that is still practiced in the areas most forgotten by the state.
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