Colombia rescues 17 minors from controversial ultra-Orthodox Jewish group Lev Tahor

Colombian immigration authorities said Sunday that they had rescued 17 minors from members of Lev Tahor, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish group long accused of child abuse.

The group, which has faced global scrutiny for years, is characterized by authorities and former members as a cultlike sect that enforces extreme interpretations of Jewish law and keeps its followers isolated.

Its practices, including promoting child marriages, imposing strict relocations, and enforcing severe dress codes, have prompted investigations in multiple countries over the past decade.

"We have rescued 17 boys, girls and teens," the country's immigration service said on US social media platform X, sharing images of some of the minors with their faces blurred or otherwise concealed.

Police reports cited by the EFE news agency said the rescued children were nationals of the US, Canada and Guatemala.

Migracion Colombia, the country's immigration authority, said the operation was conducted on Sunday in the town of Yarumal in the Antioquia region.

The agency noted that five of the minors recovered during the raid had active Interpol "yellow notices," which are issued worldwide for missing individuals, especially children believed to be vulnerable to abduction or trafficking.

"The absolute priority is ensuring the protection of these minors," Gloria Esperanza Arriero, the head of Migracion Colombia, told Newsweek.

She said that authorities took preventive action and worked in coordination with multiple Colombian institutions. "We ensured an integrated response that safeguarded their rights and well-being," Arriero said.

She further stressed that the situation did not involve abducted children, but was connected to an ongoing legal process in the US.