Three alleged rapists of a woman from London, England evaded police apprehension as they continue to receive asylum in their indigenous village in northern Colombia.
The suspected violators belong to the Wayuu ethnic group in the northern Guajira department and are protected from being arrested due to the indigenous community’s legal autonomy.
According to the police commander of La Guajira, Colonel Elber Velasco Garavito, the 23-year-old victim, whose name has not been released, filed a report on Sunday claiming three Wayuu men raped her in a farmhouse in the village of Cabo de la Vela.
The young Londoner reportedly had an argument with her fellow traveling companions and went off on her own where she got lost. Stumbling upon the Wayuu village she sought help, but instead wound up being sexually assaulted.
Following the complaint, police identified the alleged attackers but their efforts to detain them were thwarted by the local community who is currently holding the three men in protective custody.