A serious complaint was made this Friday by the District Ombudsman of Medellín , reporting that some beneficiaries of scholarships or higher education loans were being extorted by community leaders.

As revealed by the Public Ministry , presumably some members of the Local Administrative Boards (JAL), would be requesting sexual or economic favors from the boys to guarantee the social service they provide in the commune and must present in higher education institutions.

Leonor Gaviria, leader of the Ombudsman’s Observatory for Citizen Participation, indicated that she was aware of specific complaints from Santa Cruz (communal 2) and San Javier (communal 13) that were reported to the Attorney General.

“More than 50 complaints we have received from various communes and corregimientos. What we think is that there is a violation of rights because they ask them for economic resources or sexual favors to be able to sign the social service” , added the leader Gaviria.

Given the multiple complaints presented, the Ombudsman has been monitoring this situation , requesting information since 2021 on the measures that have been taken by Sapiencia, the Post-Secondary Education Agency of the Medellín Mayor’s Office, but no action has been taken. effective in correcting this problem.

As established in Decree 32 of 2023, the beneficiary student who performs social service in his commune or corregimiento, must carry the certificate with the signature of a mayor.

“We are asking the Administration to endorse it in another way ,” concluded Gaviria. MEDELLÍN