Minors continue to be sexually exploited in Cartagena

“Where can I get some cool peeladitas?” is heard in addition to a recording presented by the children's rights defender, Nelly Mosquera, who on 5 April denounced a network of pimps of minors operating in Cartagena. The activist said that Hollywood beach vendors, in the Bocagrande neighborhood, would be offering underage tourists through catalogues.

Those who abuse minors do not hesitate to offer them. “Right here it was, how did you want it,” they tell their customers and they immediately proceed to choose, as if it were any product, the least.

Mosquera, who has reported such cases since 2004, said that together with his work team he has collected evidence of this crime. He indicated that the audios recently revealed are part of an open investigation in December last year and that in a short time he has realized that in Cartagena the sexual exploitation of minors continues to increase.

In response to the allegations, the Cartagena Police assured that the strategy 'This is not' is active, with which crowded places in the city have been intervened and more than 30 suspected pimps have been captured.

The authorities said they are committed to continuing to be present on the beaches and throughout the tourism sector of Cartagena.

According to figures from the Colombian Institute for National Family Welfare, during 2021 in Cartagena 660 processes were carried out to restore rights due to sexual violence, and of these 26 correspond to Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents (ESCNNA).

Cartagena is one of the main tourist destinations in the country, unfortunately also one of the places where the crime of pimping and child prostitution networks are most detected, which is why the authorities are increasingly vigilant to combat them. As crimes of this kind against minors in Cartagena have increased, the police called on the community so that parents can detect in time if their children are victims of any sexual predators.

“We also invite parents to strengthen bonds of trust and create spaces for the comprehensive protection of their children,” the organization said.

It should be recalled that last year President Iván Duque said that national and international tourists who are discovered seeking sex tourism services in Cartagena will be declared as “non gratas” people. “A tourist who intends to fall into any of these practices in this country will not only be deported, but will be declared persona non grata, and of course, in the event of the commission of any crime, the respective prosecution will be proceeded,” declared the president.

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