There are 654 foreigners incarcerated in Colombia, according to a report by Colombia’s national prison authority INPEC, reported Spanish news agency EFE Monday.
“In recent years the number of foreigners deprived of liberty in Colombian jails has increased,” revealed INPEC.
The report shows that the majority of foreigners in Colombian jails are Venezuelan, with 134 individuals, followed by Spanish nationals (120) and Mexicans (76). The prisoners are from over 50 different countries including the U.S., Germany, Lithuania, Holland, France, Senegal, Israel, Morocco, Canada, and Australia, among others.
Of the total foreign inmates 90% are in prison for the manufacture or transportation of drugs, while the remaining 10% are accused of crimes such as murder, theft, money laundering, sexual offenses and kidnapping.
Starting in February foreign prisoners whose first language is not Spanish, “can redeem jail time teaching language classes to their peers.”
In addition, the state agency said that it had implemented a program called “virtual visits” with the objective to “maintain ties” between foreign prisoners and their families through videoconferencing.