Colombia: 11-year-old girl and 11 other women victims of trafficking rescued

The immigration authorities of Colombia rescued this Saturday a minor and 11 women from other countries who were apparently victims of human trafficking in the municipality of Maní, which belongs to the department of Casanare (east).

“A Colombian minor and 11 foreign women, alleged victims of human trafficking, were rescued in the last hours in the municipality of Maní”, reported Colombia Migration team in a statement.

The Colombian minor and the other eleven women, whose nationalities have not been disclosed, were found in a night establishment dedicated to the sale of alcoholic beverages and pimping activities.

According to the information released by the investigators of the case, in that establishment, located in the Guadalupe Salcedo neighborhood, women are being victims of sexual exploitation.

Participated in the rescue Group of Operational Articulation of the Judicial Police (GAOPJ) of Migration Colombia, the Facilitator Center for Migration Services of Yopal, the Government Secretariat of the Mayor’s Office of Maní, the National Police and the BIRNA 44 Battalion of the National Army.

“After the operation, the minor was left at the disposal of the family police station of the municipality of Maní for the restitution of their rights, while the foreigners were taken to the Colombia Migration office in Yopal.” Added the information.

Besides, the National Police the establishment closed for ten days and Migración Colombia began an administrative sanctioning process at the site for non-compliance with immigration regulations.

Increase in trafficking cases in Colombia

The Office of the Colombian Ombudsman warned at the end of last July about the increase in cases of human trafficking in 2021, since so far this year they gave legal assistance to 99 victims, compared to the 88 that there were in all of 2020.

The majority of cases where legal assistance has been provided – which does not total the cases of trafficking in the country, which is much higher – have been in Bogotá, Valle del Cauca and Antioquia, where the three main cities of the country are located.

According to figures from Ministry of the Interior of Colombia, despite being a very underrepresented phenomenon, between 2013 and 2020, 686 cases of human trafficking were registered, of which 82% corresponded to the female gender, with the modality of sexual exploitation being the most prevalent with 408 cases, followed by labor forced with 134.

More than half of the victims were between 18 and 30 years old, and 12% were children and adolescents.