United States authorities arrested 29 individuals accused of forcing Mexican and Central American women into prostitution in the southeastern part of the country after helping them cross the border illegally into the U.S., officials said.
U.S. agents were able to identify 15 possible victims, including a young woman who was still an underage teen when forced to prostitute herself in a brothel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, said in a communique.
The crackdown on the sex-trafficking of Latin American women, dubbed "Operation Safe Haven," led to the arrest in 13 cities of 29 individuals now facing charges that could lead to any of a range of sentences, from paying a $250,000 fine to life imprisonment.
The investigation took 15 months after its initiation in July 2014, when special agents of Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, discovered a loosely organized network of people in the cities of Savannah and Moultrie, both in the state of Georgia, dedicated to the sex-trafficking of immigrants.
The group was supposedly in charge of coordinating border crossings for women from Mexico and Central America in order to subsequently deliver them to brothels in the southeastern United States, specifically in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.
"This investigation identified women victimized through fraud, force and coercion, including underage teens," Atlanta HSI agent Nick S. Annan said.
"To the criminals behind these illegal enterprises, these women are just pieces of meat used to pull a quick profit and then discarded or passed on to the next trafficker down the line," Annan said.
Under the protection of the U.S. government, the victims are receiving emergency medical care, food and shelter.
While the criminal trial of those responsible for running the prostitution ring proceeds, the women can remain in the United States and apply for the T-visas provided for victims of trafficking who collaborate with the justice system. They are allowed to stay in the country for three years before applying for a Green Card for permanent residence.
The criminal investigation is now in hands of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, where the 29 in custody will have to give a deposition and three brothel clients will answer to charges of promoting prostitution brought by the U.S. government. EFE
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