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Witch doctors arrested for sexual abuse

By Manuel Rueda, Editorial Director

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Two fake witch doctors from the city of Manizales have been arrested for sexually abusing their clients.

The impostors, a man and a woman who are married, enticed attractive females to attend their consultations, saying that they could help them to find employment after cleansing their spirit of negative energies.

They asked their victims to drink a series of herbal potions that put them into a state of numbness and enabled the impostors to practice sexual intercourse with them.

It is still unknown how many women fell into this trap, but six have recently pressed charges against the impostors who have been arrested and taken to a local jail while their case is reviewed.

Colombians often consult witch doctors who use tarot cards and read the lines of the palm to comment on a client’s love life, debts, work situation, and family life.

Witch doctors, or Brujos, work with a mix of catholic and indigenous traditions offering herbal potions, prayers, and cleansing rituals that can bring about changes in a client’s love life, improve their work situation, protect someone from potential dangers, or help improve one’s health.

Not all witch doctors are criminal impostors and not all are successful in bringing about changes in their clients' lives.

However, some Bogota residents swear by the powers of these magicians. 

One place to learn more about brujeria is the Templo del Indio Amazonico on Bogota’s Avenida Caracas with 39^th Street.

The Templo is run by Carlos Rueda, a famous witch doctor who learned his trade from indians in the Colombian Amazon while he lived there as a boy.

Some say Rueda is creating false expectations and ripping people off, but many of his clients have faith in his powers, and the entrance to his place is decorated with tiles donated by people who thank the Indio Amazonico for helping them find a job, helping them to get back with their loved ones, or helping them to get through terrible financial situations.