Colombian armed groups post TikTok recruitment videos; platform cites bans and enforcement steps

Armed groups in Colombia are posting TikTok videos that display cash, gold watches and attractive young women while inviting young viewers to join. The posts include captions such as “Good kids study. Lazy ones make money,” “The true revolutionary is the one who fights for his people and asks nothing in exchange,” “We are open for recruitment” and “Join us!

We’re waiting for you. ” Some videos have received more than 100,000 views. FRANCE 24 Observers created a fake TikTok account posing as a 17-year-old Colombian and contacted 33 accounts affiliated with armed groups.

Six accounts responded. An account linked to a FARC dissident group replied “Yes, of course” when asked if it accepts 17-year-olds. Lina Mejía Torres of the NGO Vivamos Humanos stated that armed groups are offering up to 12 million Colombian pesos, or €2,900, per month—seven times the Colombian minimum salary in 2026.

The NGO released a report in early 2026 on the recruitment of young people through social media. Juana Cabezas of Indepaz said armed groups previously recruited minors by going house to house but can now reach the entire country from a single base via social media. She noted that children recruited online often vanish without their families knowing what happened.

The UN reports that the number of children under 18 in Colombia’s armed groups increased by 320 percent between 2019 and 2024. A report by the Colombian Institute of Legal Medicine states that 30 minors under 18 died between August 2025 and May 2026, half in fighting between armed groups and half in fighting with the military.

A member of an indigenous NGO in Cauca, speaking on condition of anonymity, said families sometimes receive calls from armed groups one or two weeks after a child joins, asking them to collect the body.