RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Bolivian police rescued two babies sold by their mothers in different circumstances, one left as “collateral” for a loan of money to the infant, and another sold her through Facebook.
The head of the Trafficking and Smuggling unit of El Alto, Anthony Fernandez, informed local media on Thursday about the case of a 17-year-old woman who gave her baby to a 56-year-old woman in the municipality Viacha about 30 kilometers from La Paz.
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The baby’s grandfather was the one who reported the situation of his granddaughter to the police so that her whereabouts could be found, said Fernandez.
According to the investigations, the mother gave the baby to the woman after performing the “rutucha”, a custom performed when children’s hair is cut first.
According to the investigations, the woman who received the baby would have given the equivalent of approximately 430 dollars to the mother “as a loan,” They even signed a document in which the 56-year-old woman would take care of the infant for two years.
“She would have given her the baby for two years apparently as a guarantee of the loan,” Fernandez told the media.
The baby was found in the house of the 56-year-old woman, and the mother and the woman were arrested for the incident, and an arrest warrant was issued for another 26-year-old relative.
The mother, who is still a minor, has been handed over to the Prosecutor’s Office and the woman who had the child. They are being investigated for human trafficking and are awaiting their hearing for preventive measures, said Fernandez.
The baby is in “good condition” and was sent to a children’s home.
On the other hand, the other case involves an 18-year-old girl from Guanay, some 233 kilometers from La Paz, who sold her baby through Facebook, according to police sources.
It is presumed that the mother was going through “postpartum” depression, which led her to make that decision, and she came to the city of El Alto to give her child to a woman.
The mother left the baby with the woman and then returned to Guanay. She later regretted her action and told her relatives about the situation and the Childhood Ombudsman’s Office. The police managed to locate the baby and apprehended the two women.