Two Frenchmen arrested in Medellín accused of sexual exploitation of minors

Two french were arrested this Tuesday in Colombia for the alleged crime of sexual exploitation of minorsafter being found with two young people of 15 and 16 years in an apartment in Medellín (northwest), reported the city’s mayor.

“When the police heard voices for help, they entered the property and found two foreign citizens of French nationality (30 years old) with two minors“, said Mayor Federico Gutiérrez on his X account.

The men were “caught in flagrante delicto” and the girls were handed over to the dependency of Family Wellbeingadded the mayor.

The case occurred in the neighborhood The Village, a popular destination among travelers visiting Medellín. The city has been experiencing a tourism boom since 2024, accompanied by numerous reports of pedophilia and sexual exploitation of minors.

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Gutiérrez pointed out that both the men and the minors had traces of attacks. “We will continue until we eradicate the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in Medellín,” he noted.

In April, authorities restricted prostitution – which is legal in Colombia – on a handful of tourist streets following the arrest of an American who entered a hotel with two girls, ages 12 and 13. Shortly afterward he was released in a questioned police procedure.

Fourteen foreigners were arrested in 2024 in Medellín for sexual abuse against minors, according to the police.

Medellín, destination of the “Passport Bros” in search of sex and “docile” women

Under the name Passport Bros, a large community of men on the internet promotes sexual tourism from the first world to places where they consider it easier to court. Among the favorite destinations is Medellín, hit by human trafficking and the exploitation of minors.

“Passport Bros: Guide to finding a Latina in Medellín“says a post on TikTok by Austin Abeyta, who with half a million followers, a wide smile and a cap advises on encounters with women and digital nomadism.

Attending events for people who want to learn English or inviting pretty girls to restaurants, according to Abeyta, are some key steps to get a romantic date in the second city of Colombia.

With members from the United States or Europe, this fraternity ensures that the women around them are influenced by a “hostile” feminism.

“In the United States, women are haughty, selfish and demanding,” writes one user on a Reddit forum with 32,000 members.

On different platforms they share experiences about less developed countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Thailand and the Philippineswhere they say they are successful, according to frequent mentions.

Although prostitution in Colombia is legal“any issue of pimping is a crime,” explains the Secretary of Security of Medellín, Manuel Villa.

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According to him, the authorities already monitor “digital groups where the promotion” of the sex tourism. For now, the mayor’s office did not associate the recent arrival of the Passport Bros with abuse or human trafficking.

Risk of human trafficking

The nightlife, spring-like weather, and low prices make Medellín one of the top destinations for digital nomads, people who work while traveling.

“I came to Medellín for what we all come to Medellín for and what no one wants to talk about. He is the man for your trip,” says a young man in English from the iconic Plaza Botero, next to the American Wilkens Fervil, known as “Passport Dog “.

Fervil, a self-proclaimed Passport Bro, offers “tours” for men in Colombia: “Strip club tour. I take them from the neighborhood to the penthouse, getting girls,” he says in another post.

Its contents show apartment parties and explicit descriptions of encounters with prostitutes.

The AFP tried without success to contact Fervil.

The narrative that describes Latina women as “more docile, more feminine” is based on “stereotypes” and poses a potential risk because “it allows human trafficking and sexual exploitation to continue to grow,” says Danitza Marentes, director of Valientes. Colombia, an organization that helps victims of trafficking in Medellín.

Also “increases the vulnerability” of local womenhe adds.

“Educated to be feminine” vs. “antifeminism”

The Passport Bros are interested in casual encounters and some are looking for a “good wife.”

“Modern feminism has produced an entire generation (…) of toxic femininity that has turned men into enemies,” explains Chase P. Taylor, founder of The Official Passport Bros portal in an interview with the AFP podcast “Sur le fil”.

“This has literally caused men to give up on dating” in their countries and prefer women in Latin America and Asia where “they are educated to be feminine,” Taylor continues.

It’s a diverse community, but Passport Bros like Taylor say they’re interested in romantic relationships where the couple can “build” a life as a “team”.

For experts like Francis Dupuis-Déri, ​​a professor specializing in masculinist movements at the University of Quebec in Montreal, it is a “current of anti-feminism that says that men suffer because of women and feminists.”

Some Passport Bros are associated with incels – men who consider themselves rejected by the opposite sex – who “feel resentment, anger” about their condition, and therefore “blame women,” says Karen Holt, a professor at the State University of Michigan investigating misogynistic communities online.

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They are also politically linked to the “red pill” concept, a radical ideological current, nostalgic for the past, that rejects progressive values.

Narcoculture

In April, Medellín restricted prostitution on a handful of tourist streets following the arrest of the American Timothy Livingston for entering a hotel with two girls of 12 and 13 years old. Shortly afterward he was released in a questioned police procedure.

Fourteen foreigners have been arrested in 2024 in Medellín for sexual abuse against minors, according to the police.

Cradle of the dejected drug lord Pablo Escobar, the city of 2.6 million inhabitants today suffers the scourge of sexual exploitation mafias.

The cases strike a chord in this metropolis with a long history linked to “narco culture” according to Paula Valencia, a professor at the University of Medellín who researches trafficking.

Within the feared Medellín cartel “the trafficking of virgin girls was a common practice (…), almost like a prize,” he adds.

A dozen organizations inherited from that group today control the prostitution market.

“Welcome the tourist, welcome your investment, but we are not interested in dollars stained with blood,” warns Secretary Manuel Villa.