Sandra, a teenage girl who wears her curly brown hair tied back in braids, awaited the instant message on her mobile phone. The instructions were matter of fact: Wear makeup and a short skirt. If possible, don a crop top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like other girls in her neighborhood outside Medell\u00edn, Colombia, Sandra said she didn\u2019t always have food for dinner, let alone trendy clothes and electronics. But a friend tipped her off to a sure-fire way to make money fast. This\u00a0amiguita<\/em>, she said, told her about the plentiful meals\u00a0she could afford, the iPhone she uses, the motorcycle she\u2019d soon be sitting astride. Sandra could enjoy this life too, her friend said. The cost? Her virginity. To a foreigner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sandra agreed. Her friend connected then-14-year-old Sandra and her younger sister Ver\u00f3nica (both of whose names Bloomberg changed to protect the siblings against reprisal), with a woman, who, on social media projected a youthful, fun-loving air. Known as la patrona<\/em>, the woman posed in one photo in a white bikini, hand on hip, on a poolside lounge chair surrounded by palm trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The woman expeditiously gathered up the girls\u2019 identity numbers and nude photos. She offered them an advance of 8.6 million pesos ($1,990) <\/strong>for jobs well done. The interchanges were carried out through Meta Platforms Inc.\u2019s social media apps Facebook and Messenger, according to Sandra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recruitment and grooming of children are but the first in a multi-step process…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p> Sex trafficking in Colombia runs through a web of US apps like Facebook, Tinder and Airbnb https:\/\/t.co\/0tD6KNvVJB<\/a><\/p>— Bloomberg (@business) March 3, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>