First modification:
Thousands of unaccompanied children and minors cross the border from Venezuela to Colombia, a decision that leads them to an uncertain future. Their vulnerability makes them prone to being recruited, raped, prostituted, sold, killed or disappeared, among other calamities, due to the presence of different criminal groups that control the border, which stretches for more than 2,000 kilometers.
The crimes committed in that territory, controlled mostly by the Tren de Aragua criminal organization, are an open secret, in a place where denouncing puts life in danger, since Colombian police and military forces presumably also participate with these mafias. , allegedly bribed by criminals.
More than 15,000 people cross the Simón Bolívar bridge daily, more than twice as many go through illegal trails. A quarter of the migrants who use these alternative routes are minors who do not have the documents required by the immigration authorities, so they cannot go through the regular routes.
According to the Colombian government, 250,000 unaccompanied minors have crossed the border since 2015 and six million Venezuelans have left the country since the beginning of the crisis.
#missing #children #border #Colombia #Venezuela