The Childhood and Adolescence Police documented over 900 cases of minors in recurring begging during the investigation. Photo credit: City of Medellín.

The operation, named ‘The Hidden Face of Charity,’ was carried out by Colombian authorities in the city’s Calle 10 area in Poblado and the neighborhoods of Carpinelo, Santa Cruz, and Boston. The detained individuals include both Colombian and Venezuelan nationals.

Authorities launched ‘The Hidden Face of Charity’ operation in Medellín’s Calle 10, Carpinelo, Santa Cruz, and Boston neighborhoods. Photo credit: City of Medellín.

According to a statement from Medellín’s Secretary of Security and Coexistence, the network allegedly used babies as young as one month old and children up to five years of age to solicit money and goods. The operation targeted high-traffic tourist areas, including Parque Lleras and Provenza in El Poblado, where members of the network would approach foreigners to ask for essential items such as milk, diapers, medicine, and food, in addition to cash.

“What they did was exploit girls and boys, even newborns, whom, in many cases, their own mothers handed over to women of Venezuelan nationality to be used in begging activities. They changed their clothes to simulate conditions of greater vulnerability and then approached them, especially tourists, generating pity to receive aid in diapers and milk, which were later sold in the city center,” said Mayor Federico “Fico” Gutiérrez. “None of those resources were actually intended for the children. It was all part of a network set up for economic gain, exploiting minors and deceiving those who, in good faith, believed they were helping.”

The operation targeted tourist spots in El Poblado where the network solicited milk, diapers, medicine, food, and cash from foreigners. Photo credit: City of Medellín.

The investigation, which was a joint effort involving the Fiscalía General de la Nación (Prosecutor General’s Office) and the National Police of Colombia, found that the donated and collected goods were later resold. The network’s activities generated an estimated $180 million Colombian COP (approximately $45,000 USD) per month in revenue from both cash and the resale of products.

The mayor explained that, according to the evidence gathered, it was found, for example, that foreigners bought a case of milk for $250,000 (about $60 USD) at a pharmacy, and the criminals resold it for a lower price elsewhere in the city. Indigenous people were given a commission for allowing their children to be used.

The investigation was a joint effort by Colombia’s Fiscalía General de la Nación and National Police. Photo credit: City of Medellín.

Investigators utilized undercover agents, telephone interceptions, and extensive surveillance to gather evidence against the suspects. During the investigation period, the city’s Childhood and Adolescence Police division documented over 900 cases involving the protection of minors found in recurrent begging situations, highlighting the scale of the problem.

Manuel Villa Mejía, the head of the Secretariat of Security and Coexistence for the Mayor’s Office of Medellín, affirmed the city’s commitment to protecting the rights of minors. He stated that the operation was a coordinated action with law enforcement to put an end to criminal practices that were affecting merchants, tourists, and the local community.

The seven captured individuals have been turned over to the Fiscalía General de la Nación to face judicial proceedings. Authorities have indicated that the investigation will continue in an effort to identify and apprehend other individuals connected to the exploitation ring and to ensure the restoration of rights for the affected children.

Seven arrested in Medellín for exploiting Embera Katío children in forced begging. Photo credit: City of Medellín.

While prostitution without intermediaries is legal in otherwise socially conservative Colombia, Medellín in particular has seen a rise in sex tourism, angering many locals. On the other hand, engaging in sexual activity with a minor is a serious crime in Colombia.

Monday, Mayor Gutierrez used his emergency powers to outlaw prostitution effective immediately in Medellín’s El Poblado sector, including the Parque Lleras and Provenza neighborhood popular with tourists. Emergency measures are effective for six months. The mayor also restricted bars, restaurants, and nightclubs to a 1 am closing time.

This move comes after a curfew measure for minors, still in effect, that the mayor enacted at the end of January in several commercial districts of the city where nightlife is a major component.

“We have to recover these spaces that crime has been taking over, ‘deconfusing’ these areas of the city and putting our women and especially our girls, boys, and adolescents at risk. The work of our mayor’s office will continue there, every day, 24 hours a day, and with all our support,” said Gutiérrez, who explained that this sex trafficking is controlled by the La Terraza, La Raya, and Robledo mafias active in Medellín.

Dominick Divencenzo is facing charges of sexually exploiting minors.

“Here, we need everyone’s commitment, understanding that this is a situation that has hit rock bottom. We did not come here to hide problems. We came to recognize them. There is a serious, difficult situation. I said it from my first day in office. Some measures have been taken and these are other exceptional ones,” said Gutierrez.

Earlier last month, two American citizens were arrested in Medellin in operations coordinated between Colombian police and the US Department of Homeland Security, both for the sexual exploitation of minors. Then, last week, due to a tip from a concerned neighbor, 36-year-old Timothy Alan Livingston was detained when he was caught in a luxury guest house with two girls, aged 12 and 13.

36-year-old Timothy Alan Livingston was detained when he was caught in a luxury guest house with two girls, aged 12 and 13.

Sources explain to Finance Colombia that Livingston was released after initial detention because there was not enough evidence to immediately charge him with a crime (Habeas Corpus), in other words, they were not able to immediately establish that he had engaged in sex acts with the children, who had been taken into custody after the incident by the child welfare authorities. Though still under criminal investigation, Livingston immediately fled to Florida, though Colombia has an extradition treaty with the United States, and the United States has demonstrated willingness to extradite US citizens to Colombia to face justice.

The Colombian police temporarily sealed the luxury guest house, called “Gotham” and located in Medellín’s upscale Poblado area in the Parque Lleras neighborhood. The closure lasts for 10 days pending additional legal sanctions. The mayor has called for “Extinción de Dominio” (similar to asset forfeiture in the United States), which is when the government seizes property used or paid for by criminal activity.

Gotham is not a hotel but a guest residence with five units, marketed through Airbnb. When contacted by Finance Colombia, the management company that actually owns the building shared this statement (translated by Finance Colombia):

We categorically repudiate any form of sexual exploitation of boys, girls and teenagers. We do this not only as responsible tourism actors in the city of Medellín, but also in our condition as fathers, mothers, daughters and sons. The exploitation of minors is aberrant and since the beginning of our company we have been committed to combating and preventing it. Our team is made up of 17 women, administrators of properties, that we have worked for the protection of the rights of women, children and adolescents from Colombia.

In recent years we have met with authorities on countless occasions, including the National Police and the Mayor’s Office of Medellín, to address traffic prevention strategies, sexual violence, drug trafficking and other phenomena that affect the safety of visitors and citizens and the integrity of our children. We have actively participated in the Intersectoral Roundtable and Interinstitutional Prostitution of the Mayor’s Office of Medellín to contribute to combating exploitation of minors in accommodation and lodging establishments.

All reservations in this tourist home are made through Airbnb. On this platform We require that users, whose identity is previously verified, expressly accept our policies against sex tourism, child exploitation and drug consumption before reserving the property. In addition to the above, as hotel operators, we have implemented policies and even more robust practices to guarantee security in tourist housing. In all the public spaces of the building we have installed security cameras, we keep strict records of guests, we implemented security procedures at the reception desk and even train periodically and in a documented manner, all our staff against child exploitation.

We are committed to implementing stronger security measures than usual in properties that are reserved through digital platforms. Despite our best efforts, a foreigner, who has been identified by the authorities, Timothy Alan Livingston, circumvented and violated our security schemes.

On the night of March 27, 2024, Mr. Livingston tried to enter with two companions who were carrying identification as adults. However, the security guard prohibited their entry suspecting that they could be minors. The building’s security cameras show that Livingston would have returned to the building and entered illegally in the early morning of March 28, when the night security guard’s shift had already ended.

Thanks to the complaint of a neighbor, the National Police was alerted to the situation and since then our entire team has been actively collaborating with the ongoing investigation. We are currently collaborating, and will continue to actively collaborate with the authorities, including the National Police and the Attorney General’s Office, to facilitate and expedite their investigations with the aim of prosecuting those responsible for this aberrant event.

We join the calls for justice to be done and we will continue to work closely with the local and foreign authorities to provide all information that allows identification, arrest and prosecute those responsible. As responsible tourism actors we are also affected by this case that harms many hotel properties and forces us not to neglect security for even a minute.

Our country has deep social problems. Just between January and August 2023, there were 8,295 sexual crimes against minors, according to data provided by the Attorney General’s Office. Our commitment is to promote quality tourism and that is why we have actively participated with the authorities, and with industry associations such as Fenalco and Cotelco, for many years to combat the scourge of child exploitation. We are horrified by the events that occurred, and in light of this phenomenon, given that we are also mothers and fathers with small children. We are concerned citizens who want justice to be done and a sustainable long-term tourism strategy implemented in the city of Medellín for the benefit of society and without crime or immorality.

We are with all Medellin and Colombian [citizens] during this painful process.