Eight Colombian women, allegedly victims of the crime of trafficking for sexual and labor exploitation, were rescued in the city of Mérida, capital of the state of Yucatán, southeastern Mexico, the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) reported on Friday.
In a statement, the FGR explained that the discovery was made following, through the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes of Violence once morest Women, Vulnerable Groups and Human Trafficking (Fevimtra), it executed a search warrant for various properties in Mérida where victims of human trafficking were being held.
The investigation by the FGR, in conjunction with Colombian authorities, led to the search of three homes and three bars in the aforementioned city, carried out by agents of the Federal Ministerial Police (PFM), the Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC), with the support of the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), which provided perimeter security.
Following the review, the Mexican Prosecutor’s Office indicated, “eight victims of Colombian nationality were recovered and Soledad A was arrested, the possible main operator in the city of Mérida of a transnational criminal cell dedicated to human trafficking.
At the same time, and with the collaboration of Colombian authorities, in addition to the participation of Interpol, the possible leader of the cell, Cristóbal Paulino F., was also arrested, and the process to present him to the authorities in Mexico was initiated.
The FGR indicated that the six properties that were searched were seized, and once the legal procedures are completed, they will be made available to the Institute to Return Stolen Property to the People (Indep), an agency in charge, among other powers, of confiscating property from criminals to dismantle their illicit wealth.
In mid-May, Mexican authorities rescued 17 women, 15 of them Argentine, who were allegedly victims of human trafficking for sexual and labor exploitation in Cancun, in the Mexican Caribbean.
The state of Quintana Roo, in the Mexican Caribbean and neighboring Yucatan, is the country’s main tourist destination, but civil organizations have warned of human trafficking that occurs in the territory.
Just last April, the FGE rescued another 27 women, while in January it arrested another 25 in the same area and found drugs during an inspection in an establishment in the municipality of Othón P. Blanco.
Mexico City / EFE
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2024-07-06 08:53:13
