They rescue the six Colombian women reported missing in Mexico in a possible case of trafficking

The six Colombian women who were reported missing in Mexico were rescued in an operation between federal and state forces, authorities reported on Tuesday.

The young women between 20 and 26 years old were in Boca del Río, in the Mexican state of Veracruz, and arrived in the country in the last four months to, according to their relatives, perform sex work. The last contact they had with their relatives was on the night of September 24.

After almost a week without hearing from them, their families suspected that they were kidnapped by members of organized crime.

The prosecutor’s office of that state reported in a statement that, after becoming aware of the case, it was investigated and, through the Specialized Unit to Combat Kidnapping, an operation was mounted in the coastal city of Boca del Río and the release of the six women was achieved. .

There were no arrests, but the Veracruz authorities reported that the investigations continue and offered that there will be no impunity.

The five women are young people from impoverished backgrounds in Medellín and Los Patios, in Colombia. Two of them are single mothers and at least three traveled to Mexico for the first time for sex work, according to relatives of four of the women. They didn’t know each other before.

The brothers of two of them and the mothers of two others told the AP that in the last communication they were informed that three of the girls would attend a service on the night of September 24 and two would stay in the house where they were spending the night in Boca del Río; No relative of the fifth young woman could be contacted.

Due to editorial policy, the AP It does not identify possible victims of sexual crimes nor is information given that could lead to their identification, such as, in this case, the names of the five women or their relatives.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro also confirmed the rescue of the Colombian women shortly after publicly asking the Mexican government for support in finding them through his X account, formerly Twitter, and while attending the inauguration of Claudia Sheinbaum as president of Mexico.

The Colombian Foreign Ministry detailed in a statement that the Consulate of Mexico City followed up on the alleged kidnapping of the six women, after being informed of the cases on September 29, and informed the Veracruz state prosecutor’s office to ” “will initiate legal actions” that “will allow us to find the location and rescue.”

According to their relatives, who recognized that the young women moved to Mexico to perform sex work and that is why they did not report the situation at the time, upon arriving in the country their passports were taken away and a debt of about $4,500 was imposed on them. ——Suárez reported from Bogotá.

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