Medellín Foreigners Arrested for Sex Crimes: 28 of 35 US

Figures current as of September 6, 2026, and running year-to-date — expect the totals below to keep climbing.

Quick answer: El Colombiano reported on September 5, 2026 that 35 foreigners have been captured and prosecuted for sex crimes against minors in Medellín since the city’s April 2024 crackdown began — up from just 7 captures across all of 2021-2023, a rise El Colombiano describes as more than 1,000% (the raw counts work out closer to a five-fold, or 400%, increase). Twenty-eight of the 35, or 80%, are US citizens. Over the same stretch, airport inadmissions for suspected sexual-exploitation tourism rose from 40 to 229, a jump reported at 460% (about 473% by the raw counts). None of this affects ordinary tourists — the numbers reflect a specific, intensified enforcement campaign.

What El Colombiano’s September 5 report found

Medellín has captured and prosecuted 35 foreign nationals for sex crimes against minors since launching its “Ni lo intentes, es un delito” (“Don’t even try it, it’s a crime”) campaign on April 10, 2024, according to El Colombiano and the Alcaldía de Medellín’s own description of the campaign, which frames commercial sexual exploitation of minors (ESCNNA) as punishable by up to 25 years in prison. That compares with just 7 captures across the three years before the campaign, 2021 through 2023. El Colombiano describes the increase as more than 1,000%; measured strictly against the counts it publishes, 7 to 35 works out to roughly a five-fold rise, or about 400%.

Mayor Federico Gutiérrez tied the jump directly to the campaign, saying the city has prioritized prosecuting these crimes as a result (“a partir de todos estos procesos se priorizan los delitos relacionados con este tema”), per the same report.

Medellín foreigners arrested for sex crimes: 28 of 35 are American

The nationality breakdown behind the increase is heavily skewed toward one country. Of the 35 people captured, El Colombiano reported:

• 28 US citizens
• 3 Mexican
• 1 French
• 1 Icelandic
• 1 Dutch
• 1 Israeli

That’s roughly 80% of all captures tied to Americans specifically — consistent with the pattern our earlier coverage of Medellín’s airport inadmissions has tracked all year, where Migración Colombia has said US citizens account for the large majority of stops.

Of the 35 captured, 12 have already been prosecuted and sentenced — but the four sentences El Colombiano highlights were all handed down by US federal courts, not Colombian ones; Colombia’s constitution does not permit life imprisonment. Stefan Andrés Correa was sentenced to life by a Miami federal court on June 27, 2025, and Manuel Poceiro received a life sentence from a Southern District of Florida court on January 23, 2026 — not January 2025. Michael Jamie Inofuentes was sentenced to 18 years and 4 months by a federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia in February 2026, and Hamzeh Anasweh received 21 years from a Southern District of Florida court on July 17, 2025. All four were convicted under US law for crimes committed against minors in Medellín, according to El Colombiano, Infobae, and the US Department of Justice.

Airport inadmissions are climbing even faster

Captures are only one half of the enforcement picture — most flagged travelers never make it past passport control at José María Córdova airport in the first place. Over the same April 2024–2026 period, inadmissions for suspected sexual-exploitation tourism rose from 40 total across 2021-2023 to 229 across 2024-2026, a jump El Colombiano puts at 460% (measured against the raw counts, the increase is closer to 473%). Broken down by year:

• 2021: 8
• 2022: 19
• 2023: 13
• 2024: 40
• 2025: 71
• 2026 (year-to-date): 118 — already the highest annual figure on record, with four months still left in the year

That 2026 pace tracks with what we’ve been reporting in real time:

• 101 inadmissions in Antioquia by mid-July, including six Americans turned back in a single incident on July 13 (El Tiempo) — full story
• 107 by early August — full story
• 120 as of a September 3 incident involving five more Americans — full story

El Colombiano’s slightly lower year-to-date figure (118) reflects a September 5 cutoff and a narrower count tied specifically to this campaign’s tracking window; the trajectory across both counts is the same.

An inadmisión, unlike a capture, is a purely administrative step: an officer denies entry before the traveler legally crosses the border, with no appeal and no Colombian criminal charge filed. It’s a different — and far more common — outcome than the criminal prosecutions counted in the 35 captures above.

What this means for US travelers

None of this touches the overwhelming majority of Americans flying into Medellín to visit, work remotely, or relocate. The enforcement described here — coordinated among Medellín’s police, Migración Colombia, and a Task Force with the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations — is built to catch a specific, targeted category of traveler using interview red flags, prior records, and tip lines, not to slow down routine arrivals. Travelers weighing Medellín’s broader safety picture can also read the US Embassy’s own crime alert for Americans in the city, which covers unrelated safety concerns like drugging and theft.

Frequently asked questions

Is Medellín safe for American tourists?

For the vast majority of visitors, yes — the enforcement described here targets a narrow category of traveler flagged for suspected sexual-exploitation intent, not ordinary tourism. Separate safety concerns, like drugging and street crime, are covered in the US Embassy’s crime alert.

How many foreigners have been arrested in Medellín for sex crimes?

35 foreigners have been captured and prosecuted for sex crimes against minors in Medellín since the city’s April 2024 crackdown began, per El Colombiano’s September 5, 2026 report — up from 7 captures across 2021-2023, a rise El Colombiano puts at more than 1,000% (the raw counts work out closer to 400%).

Why are so many of those arrested American?

Migración Colombia and Medellín officials haven’t published a theory for the specific skew, but 28 of the 35 people captured — and the large majority of airport inadmissions in this category all year — are US citizens, a pattern that has held consistently since 2024.

What’s the difference between an arrest and an airport inadmission?

An arrest (captura) is a criminal proceeding that can lead to prosecution and prison time, like the two life sentences and two multi-decade sentences already handed down — all four by US federal courts. An inadmisión is an administrative step at the airport that denies entry before the traveler crosses the border — no appeal, no Colombian criminal charge, and a far more common outcome.

Sources: El Colombiano, September 5, 2026; El Tiempo; Infobae on the Poceiro sentencing; US Department of Justice, Eastern District of Virginia; Alcaldía de Medellín.