Mathew Charles

Bogota D.C.

Freelance Contributor at Freelance

Researcher @URosario | Director @mihistoriaco | Adviser on youth justice and disengagement for @UNICEFColombia and @ComisionadoPaz | Children, crime & conflict

Articles

Cómo se forma un sicario

2 weeks ago | lasillavacia.com | Mathew Charles

Este es un espacio de debate que no compromete la opinión de La Silla Vacía ni de sus aliados. El intento de asesinato contra el senador Miguel Uribe Turbay, presuntamente cometido por un adolescente de 15 años, sacudió al país. Pero mientras algunos se aferran al asombro o al discurso del castigo ejemplar, quienes trabajamos en los márgenes de esta realidad sabemos algo incómodo: el sicariato juvenil no es una excepción, es una práctica arraigada, cotidiana, sistemática.
Cuando los niños están armados, los adultos son responsables

2 weeks ago | lasillavacia.com | Mathew Charles

Este es un espacio de debate que no compromete la opinión de La Silla Vacía ni de sus aliados. El país entero reaccionó con horror e indignación tras el atentado contra el senador Miguel Uribe Turbay. Pero pasada la conmoción inicial, pocos se atrevieron a mirar de frente una realidad que lleva años gestándose en silencio: el presunto autor de los disparos, un niño de 14 años, empuñó un arma para asesinar por encargo.
Mathew Charles, Author at La Silla Vacía

2 weeks ago | lasillavacia.com | Mathew Charles

Publicado enRed Social Los niños no nacen armados, los convierte la exclusión. La respuesta no debe ser castigo automático, sino justicia restaurativa y prevención real.
The Rise and Fall of El Negro Willy, Ecuador’s Prison-Guard Mafia Boss

Dec 4, 2024 | insightcrime.org | Mathew Charles

The first sign that armed gang members had invaded a TV station in Guayaquil came when two masked youths appeared in the corner of the screen during a live news broadcast. Soon the assailants swarmed the set, waving shotguns and revolvers at the terrified presenters, journalists, and crew. Viewers were left in disbelief as the gunmen brandished explosives and threatened to blow up the studio. “We’re on air, so you know that you can’t play with the mafia,” one of the attackers could be heard saying.
I met Ecuador’s notorious gangsters – and all is not as it seems

Mar 1, 2024 | telegraph.co.uk | Mathew Charles

Soldiers knock down a door during an anti-gang operation in Guayaquil, Ecuador Credit: John Moore/Getty Images Ángel’s body lay on the concrete after soldiers dragged him out of his home and beat him in front of his family.
Diary of a teenage assassin: 'I murdered 30 people - I became addicted'

Jan 13, 2024 | stuff.co.nz | Mathew Charles

Twelve-year-old Andrés Camilo Romaña had spent most of his young life collecting rubbish in the poverty-stricken neighbourhoods of Quibdó in Colombia’s Pacific coastal region of Chocó. He did not like school because he was frequently bullied. Instead, he preferred to endure the unrelenting humidity of the city, roaming its streets and sifting through bins for anything of value. “He was a good boy. He worked hard,” his mother, Jacinta Romaña, told The Telegraph.
How Ecuador’s 36-year-old leather jacket-wearing president took on the drug cartels – and lost

Jan 10, 2024 | msn.com | Mathew Charles
How Ecuador’s 36-year-old leather jacket-wearing president took on the drug cartels - and lost

Jan 10, 2024 | sg.yahoo.com | Mathew Charles

Daniel Noboa, Ecuador's president, announces a state of emergency - HANDOUT/PRESIDENCIA ECUADOR/AFPWhen Daniel Noboa came to power last November at the age of just 35, he pledged to break up the powerful drug cartels that have slowly come to dominate Ecuador. His “Phoenix” security strategy included plans to enhance intelligence services and expand the military’s presence at key points of transport infrastructure. That all unravelled spectacularly in a matter of hours.
How Ecuador's 36-year-old leather jacket wearing president took on the drug cartels - and lost

Jan 10, 2024 | telegraph.co.uk | Mathew Charles

Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa announcing a state of emergency Credit: HANDOUT/PRESIDENCIA ECUADOR/AFP When Daniel Noboa came to power last November at the age of just 35, he pledged to break up the powerful drug cartels that have slowly come to dominate Ecuador, a once peaceful haven.
Watch: Armed men invade live TV broadcast in Ecuador

Jan 9, 2024 | news.yahoo.com | Mathew Charles

A group of armed, masked men broke into a TV studio in Ecuador during a live news broadcast on Tuesday afternoon. The programme on the TC Channel based in the city of Guayaquil was interrupted and presenters and producers were forced to the floor before the live feed was cut off. One of the assailants said, “We’re on air to show that you can’t mess with the mafia.”Police sources told The Telegraph that dynamite had been planted in the studio’s reception.