Early Warning reveals the instrumentalization of children and adolescents by criminal groups in Calarcá, Montenegro, Quimbaya, La Tebaida and Circasia.
The Early Warning System (SAT) of the Ombudsman’s Office revealed a worrying situation in the department of Quindío, where criminal groups such as ‘La Cordillera’, ‘Los Flacos’ and ‘La Oficina’ are instrumentalizing girls, boys, adolescents and young people in the municipalities of Calarcá, Montenegro, Quimbaya, La Tebaida and Circasia.
According to Early Warning (AT) 001 of 2024, the population between 13 and 29 years old is a target for recruitment by these illegal groups, which seek to strengthen the narcotics market and eliminate those who oppose their criminal interests.
Given this, the Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo Assis, stated: “Our Early Warning specifies how minors are being used in the chain of sale of illicit substances. Among the most common dynamics is what is known as ‘carts’, which are those who transport drugs between distribution points and the storage area. But also, unfortunately, they use young people in ‘work’ to carry out selective homicides and transfer firearms.”
From an early age, these young people are immersed in environments where criminal behavior is normalized as a lifestyle, sometimes with the sponsorship of their own parents or relatives historically dedicated to the illicit drug trade and other activities outside the law.
On some occasions, local organized crime groups take advantage of young people with low economic resources, considering their age as a factor that facilitates their entry into educational institutions. In this way, they seek to get these young people to participate in the sale of illicit drugs aimed especially at other young people.
The Call of the Ombudsman
“The alarms are on. Our adolescents and young people live in fear in one district and 15 neighborhoods in Calarcá, in nine neighborhoods in Montenegro, in 13 in Quimbaya, in eight in La Tebaida and 11 in Circasia. We call on the authorities of the region to remove children and adolescents from crime, to improve the institutional presence and to have more public policies that favor this population, characterized by being in highly complex sectors. social”, stated Carlos Camargo Assis.
Additionally, the Ombudsman highlights the need to confront these problems by promoting prevention, protection and care measures by the competent authorities. Likewise, Camargo stressed: “It is key to increase opportunities for access to higher education and the offer of formal jobs for young people, which imply the guarantee of their rights. In this way, the vulnerability and risk factors that could lead to crimes would be minimized.”
In this context, the Ombudsman’s Office recommends the Ministry of the Interior, in its role as Technical Secretariat of the Intersectoral Commission, to provide a rapid response to Early Warnings (Ciprat), since it must not only coordinate, but also promote preventive and reaction actions. timely response to the risks evidenced in AT 001 of 2024, issued by the SAT of the national human rights entity.
The main objective is for the authorities to implement the necessary measures to prevent girls, boys, adolescents and young people from continuing to face dangers due to the activity of groups such as ‘La Cordillera’, ‘Los Flacos’ and ‘La Oficina’.
Given
In 2023, the Ombudsman’s Office issued its first Early Warning for the municipality of Dosquebradas.