Juvenile criminal responsibility debates in Latin America

Legislative discussions regarding juvenile criminal responsibility are intensifying in Colombia and Panama.

In Colombia, the Chamber of Representatives debated Bill 029 of 2026, the ‘Miguel Uribe Turbay Law’. This proposal seeks to modify the criminal responsibility regime for adolescents aged 14 to 17 who commit serious crimes, potentially holding them accountable under the same Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code provisions as adults. While the current system focuses on pedagogical measures and resocialization, the new bill aims to address high-gravity cases. Opponents have argued that the state should instead focus on those who recruit or exploit minors and expressed concerns regarding the infringement of fundamental rights.

In Panama, the debate has expanded to include calls for even stricter measures. Deputy Jairo Salazar has proposed lowering the age of criminal responsibility to as young as 10 or 12 years old. Salazar argued that older adolescents have the cognitive capacity to understand their actions and suggested that current laws allow criminal organizations to use the legal immunity of minors as a shield for committing murders.