Barranquilla authorities shut down illegal aesthetic clinics, seize drugs

Barranquilla's District Health Secretariat has cracked down on informal aesthetic practices, leading to the preventive closure of eight establishments. These included spas, aesthetic centers, and makeshift clinics operating illegally. Authorities seized a significant quantity of medications and confiscated technology during surprise operations conducted throughout May and early June. The crackdown targets businesses that were performing complex surgical procedures without proper sanitary registration, adequate biosecurity conditions, or certified medical personnel.

The operations revealed that commercial spaces, beauty salons, and even residential homes were being clandestinely adapted into improvised operating rooms. Procedures like liposuction, laser lipolysis, and intravenous serum applications were being carried out in these unsafe environments. This highlights a growing public health concern fueled by the pursuit of beauty and the rise of low-cost aesthetic procedures.

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Citizens must understand that this is not a discussion about prices, it is a matter of survival. Before stepping onto a treatment table, the user's obligation is to verify...

According to official data, Barranquilla has undertaken 33 critical control interventions against irregular service providers between 2024 and 2026. These actions have consistently found that staff lacked the necessary qualifications for plastic surgery services. In parallel, the city has inspected 102 legally established health service providers to ensure authorized clinics maintain strict habilitation standards required by the Ministry of Health.

District Health Secretary Stephanie Araujo stressed that aesthetic centers, salons, or spas are not legally authorized or technically equipped to perform invasive procedures that breach the skin barrier. She urged citizens to prioritize safety over cost when seeking aesthetic treatments, emphasizing that user obligation is to verify the legitimacy and safety of the services before undergoing any procedure.

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Aesthetic centers, beauty salons, or spas under no circumstances have the legal competence or technical authorization to break the skin barrier with cannulas, internal lasers, or complex injections.