Press "Enter" to skip to content

Four girls found begging on a Cancun street to remain in protective custody

Cancun, Q.R. — Four children found wandering on a Cancun street in the middle of the night will remain in protective custody. On Wednesday, neighbors reported the four girls after they were seen wandering a residential street alone at 1:30 a.m.

When authorities arrived in Region 231, they found the girls, aged 2, 3, 5 and 6 outside and alone. They were apparently begging on behalf of their parents.

Adela Jiménez Izquierdo, head of GEAVI (Special Group for Attention to Victims of Family and Gender Violence) reported that the girls were removed from their home after a review found them living in deplorable conditions.

According to GEAVI, at the time of their admission to the city’s general hospital, the girls were seen by a doctor and fed, since it appeared they had not eaten for days.

The four minors will remain under the protection of the National System for the Integral Development of the Family (DIF). The agency says their parents have a right to claim as long as they meet the requirements of decency and there is no evidence of mistreatment.

The agency noted that so far, they have not come forward to initiate that procedure.

Adela Jiménez Izquierdo says since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, child exploitation in Cancun has increased by 30 percent.