‘Guayaquil Four’ boys missing in Ecuador pose challenge to president

‘Where are they?’ asks a mural as protests are held nationwide over the disappearance of the four boys from Guayaquil. Photograph: Cesar Munoz/AP

The disappearance of four boys in Ecuador after they came into contact with the armed forces is posing a severe challenge to President Daniel Noboa’s “war on drugs”.

The four – all black, aged between 11 and 15, and residents of Las Malvinas, a poor area in the country’s largest city, Guayaquil – were returning from a football game near their homes on 8 December when 16 air force soldiers approached them.