Colombian military and police forces patrol a checkpoint in Bogotá.Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Bogotá police on Thursday evening rescued three minors who were victims of sexual exploitation. Authorities identified her along with 25 other women during an operation in downtown Los Mártires. All were taken to a center run by the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare (ICBF) as they had no documents. There it was possible to determine their age and nationality.
Authorities initially reported that the 28 women were minors. The mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López, also emphasized this aspect. “We managed to protect 28 minors and leave them under the protection of the ICBF,” he said on Twitter. However, police and the ICBF later reported that only three people were under the age of 18.
Major Diego Loza Blanco, commander of the Bogotá Children’s Police, says over the phone that the 25 adult women are not involved in any investigation and can go about their usual activities on public streets. “We have no information that they are associated with human trafficking or sexual exploitation against their will,” he said.
The operation was conducted as part of the Night Command program, which aims to improve security in Bogotá at night. Around 2,000 police officers participate weekly in activities focused on one sector of the city where potential crime is identified.
Paid underage sexual activity is one of the concerns in the city of Los Mártires, particularly in the Santa Fe neighborhood. Loza Blanco comments that there is “a tolerance zone,” an area authorized to engage in paid sexual activity. According to him, finding minors is not common because prevention tasks have raised awareness that their participation is a criminal offence.
However, the neighborhood had another major surgery in August of last year. Then 15 people were sent to prison for allegedly deceiving and sexually exploiting minors to find housing. The attorney general’s office accused the Las Vegas criminal structure of exploiting the vulnerability of youth in the area, particularly foreigners.
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The ICBF emphasizes that the commercial sexual exploitation of children and young people constitutes a serious violation of human rights. “It is not a job, profession, service or trade; It’s a crime and a form of violence. It is not true that through their submission as sexual or commercial objects, sexually exploited girls and boys receive sums of money that allow them an easy life. You cannot naturalize this violation or argue that it is an economic opportunity, ”says a text from the institute.
Other entities participating in the operation Thursday included Migracion Colombia. 22 of the 28 women originally transferred were identified as Venezuelans. Among the three minors, two were women of that nationality. According to the ICBF, the priority is to guarantee their rights beyond their immigration status.
The minors remain in an ICBF protection facility. They will start a process of “restoring their rights”: they will receive psychosocial support services and health care, among other things.
The night command in Los Mártires also carried out eight raids as part of the operation on Thursday night. 600 cans of narcotics were seized and eight people were arrested for crimes related to theft and drug trafficking.
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