Paraguay's Ministry of Children and Adolescents (MINNA) coordinated an operation in Ciudad del Este, Alto Paraná department, that removed 42 children and adolescents who were spending the night on the streets. The action, carried out through the Chalecos Rojos program, a nationwide immediate-response mechanism, took place after reports and joint monitoring with the Municipal Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (CODENI).
The inspections also covered strategic points in Itapúa, Villarrica, Caazapá and Caaguazú, focusing on the PAINI Program, which protects families of indigenous peoples, guaranteeing the rights of indigenous children and adolescents while respecting their cultural identity.
Authorities referred the minors to specialized care centers for immediate protection. According to Paola Martínez of MINNA, in most cases mothers expose their children to inhumane conditions on public streets. The protocol activates joint work among the Public Defender's Office, the National Police and the Public Prosecutor's Office.
A case in Alto Paraná accelerated judicial measures: a mother from an indigenous community received a formal warning from the Public Defender's Office in April, but given the recurrence and persistence of risky conditions, the institutions proceeded to rescue the children to ensure their safety.
The public can report violations of minors' rights through the toll-free hotline 147 Fonoayuda.
In Ecuador, police rescued six foreign minors who were victims of a human trafficking network allegedly linked to the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect Lev Tahor, Ecuador's Interior Ministry said. The operation took place in the province of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, in the center of the country. The minors were found in a property without adequate humanitarian conditions, according to the ministry, which is investigating trafficking and forced exploitation crimes.
After the rescue, the minors were sent to the United States. The Lev Tahor sect faces cases of sexual abuse and mistreatment of minors in several countries, including Colombia and Guatemala. Last year, Colombia expelled nine members of the sect after rescuing 17 children. In December 2024, 160 children under the sect's control were rescued in Guatemala, and several followers were arrested and charged with trafficking, forced pregnancy and arranged marriages among minors.