Mexican authorities captured 421 alleged foreign pedophiles

In the last year, Mexico detained 421 foreigners with a history of sexual assault against minors attempting to enter the country. However, during the same period, only 17 were extradited to face justice in other nations, according to information from the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) and the National Migration Institute (INM) obtained by El Sol de México.

According to the Intervida World Alliance (INWA) organization, Mexico is one of the preferred destinations for pedophiles to hide. In their 2022 report, the international organization estimated that around 600,000 sexual predators visit Mexico each year, which translates to 1,600 per day or 66 per hour.

Additionally, the organization warned that pedophiles take advantage of the passage of migrants from the southern border to enter Mexico, blending in with groups of undocumented individuals.

According to information from the FGR, crimes committed against minors rank third, just behind organized crime and drug trafficking, and homicide in terms of the reasons for extradition requests to Mexico. Currently, there are 17 extradition requests pending.

The data shows that out of the 78 extradition requests for pedophiles that Mexico received between October 2022 and June of the past year, 67 were made by the United States. There were fewer requests from countries like Argentina, with three; Great Britain and Hungary, with two each, while Canada, Israel, Italy, and Spain had one each.

The United States punishes pedophiles or individuals facilitating sex with minors with up to 30 years in prison, but the penalty can be life imprisonment for those trafficking children for sexual exploitation.

In contrast, in Mexico, more than half of the federal entities still consider child sexual abuse a minor crime.

“In Mexico, there are legal and material conditions that make it a suitable place for pedophiles not only to hide but also to operate against Mexican children and even for these criminals to engage in illicit businesses,” said Tania Ramírez, director of the Network for Children’s Rights in Mexico (Redim).

In an interview with this newspaper, she explained that in many cases, there are not adequate investigations to uncover the networks, even international ones, that sexually assault minors. “A lot has to do with the fact that we have a good anti-trafficking law but one that is difficult to apply judicially. Laws in Mexico are tangled enough for pedophiles to escape,” Ramírez said.

According to the activist, pedophiles benefit from the impunity prevailing in the country. “Mexico is not only a paradise for the production of child pornography but also a paradise of impunity for pedophiles, encouraged by a lack of social awareness about this crime,” she said.

Another serious problem, she added, is that cases of abuse and sexual violence against girls, boys, and adolescents often occur within families. In addition, many families promote child pornography and human trafficking.

These crimes in the country have been on the rise. According to data from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP), while in the last four years of the government of Enrique Peña Nieto, there were 5,593 reports of corruption of minors, since 2019, under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, there have been 8,624. Meanwhile, child trafficking for sexual exploitation has increased from 748 cases to 1,394 during the same period.

“The Mexican state is obliged to cooperate with other countries and international police organizations like Interpol to extradite pedophiles and put an end to the existing impunity that fosters this crime. Undoubtedly, the extradition of pedophiles should be publicized more as a deterrent measure for these criminals,” Ramírez concluded.

Among the extraditions of pedophiles granted by Mexico last year, the case of Avraham N stands out. He is an Israeli citizen who managed to evade justice for five years for the abuse and molestation of a 14-year-old boy. The Israeli had been hiding in Mexico since 2019, and according to investigations, he is a member of an international network of pedophiles with members in countries such as Spain, the United States, Brazil, and Mexico.

TYT Newsroom