Monkey Butt: Two Dominican Nationals Caught Attempting to Smuggle Monkeys Out of Colombia With The Primates Inside Their Underwear

On the morning of May 1, 2025, the Assessment Center (CAV, by its acronym in Spanish) of the Regional Autonomous Corporation of the Negro and Nare River Basins (CORNARE) received six tamarin monkeys that had been rescued by an anti-narcotics unit at José María Córdova Airport in Rionegro, Antioquia. The officers had caught a man and a woman from Dominican Republic that were attempting to leave Colombia with two white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus) and four cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) stuffed inside cloth bags and concealed inside the suspects’ underwear.

A cotton-top Tamarin at a Zoo in Lagos, Portugal (photo: William Warby / Flickr)

According to the Police report, the two suspects face charges under Colombia’s environmental and penal codes, which can carry hefty fines and prison terms for trafficking in endangered fauna. They are being charged with illegal exploitation of natural resources, trafficking of wild species and animal abuse, crimes classified in articles 328, 328A and 339A of the Penal Code. The cotton-top tamarin is a species endemic to Colombia and is listed as critically endangered, according to the Red List.

The animals showed signs of severe distress, dehydration, skin damage and were still under the effects of an unknown sedative, so the police rushed them to the CAV, where veterinarians gave emergency care. However, according to Cornare, two of the four cotton-top tamarins were pronounced dead on arrival, victims of the effects of the drug or the violent conditions in which they were trafficked—or both.

Wildlife trafficking ranks alongside drugs and arms as one of the world’s most profitable illegal trades, as written by Cornare’s Head of Biodiversity Management, David Echeverri López, to Finance Colombia. “Wildlife trade has a negative impact on the ecosystems’ health, as wild animals perform specific ecosystem functions that are essential to maintaining the balance of their environments. These functions are disrupted when they are taken away and trafficked. Many of these animals die during the capture, transportation, and selling process. Survivors get diseases and suffer throughout the process due to the lack of proper care and nutrition. Furthermore, stress weakens their immune systems, making them more susceptible to pathogens that do not usually affect them in nature,” Echeverri points.

At the prevention end, the corporation conducts regular training sessions for transport companies, schools, universities, municipal officials, firefighters, and civil-defense groups.

Cornare encourages anyone who witnesses trafficking of wild animals to call its emergency line, +57 3217811388, available 24/7 to receive both wildlife-injury emergencies and reports of animals in captivity. These cases are handled jointly with the support of the National Police.

Photos courtesy National Police of Colombia

Photos courtesy National Police of Colombia