The violent deaths of 105 minors have already been recorded in only the first 21 days of the year, marking a heart wrenching start to 2013.
“We have recorded that in the first 21 days [of 2013] there have been 105 cases of violent deaths,” said the director of the national coroner’s office, Carlos Eduardo Valdes.
The horrifying statistic translates to five dead children per day.
Homicide was the primary cause of death, followed by accidental death and suicide.
“[Of] these 105 cases…we have 36 records of homicide [and] 17 cases are still under investigation by the institute of legal medicine to determine cause of death…13 suicides have occurred and 17 [minors] have died due to transit accidents,” stated the coroner.
Colombia’s troubled southwest department, Valle del Cauca, has registered 22 deaths. The country’s capital city of Bogota and the northwest department of Antioquia had 10 deaths each and the Risalada department in western Colombia had seven.
The director of the national institute for family welfare (ICBF), Diego Molano, stressed that those responsible for the deaths must be made into an example by authorities.
“We need [to apply justice….exemplary penalties for those who do this to a child,” said Molano.