The world was excited about Manuel Ranoque. He lost his wife in a plane crash. He searched for his surviving four children in the Amazon for 40 days – and found them. He is now in custody for alleged child sexual abuse. Visiting a disturbed man.
The Paloquemao detention center is located on an inconspicuous side street on the edge of the center of Bogotá. Early in the morning, long queues of visitors form in front of the huge concrete fortress. Women deliver warm food to their imprisoned husbands, girlfriends come for a few hours of cuddles, mothers bring soap, cookies and cigarettes to their sons.
The star-Reporters initially don’t want to let the guards in because he is a foreigner. After a two-hour entry check, an officer finally leads him to a small, barred courtyard on the third floor. The prison inmates are already waiting for their visitors there. Once a week, every Saturday, they are allowed to spend three hours with one guest each.