Of the 24 Guatemalan nationals arrested, seven were Guatemalan police officers facilitating human trafficking.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the criminal investigation firm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), conducted a large-scale law enforcement action in Guatemala that led to the execution of 20 arrest warrants and search warrants in Guatemala City, Huehuetenango, and Quetzaltenango. Guatemala, 24 and 25 October. HSI Guatemala executed the operation in collaboration with HSI’s Transnational Criminal Investigation Unit (TCIU) and Guatemalan authorities.
These repressive moves resulted in the arrest of 24 Guatemalan nationals for violating Guatemala’s human trafficking law and the seizure of US$156,882 and other contraband, as well as the rescue of 70 undocumented immigrants of Ecuadorian, Nicaraguan, Salvadoran and Venezuelan nationality from hotels in Guatemala City. .
Of the 24 Guatemalan nationals detained, seven were Guatemalan police officers who facilitated human trafficking as a component of the smuggling network. These officials were arrested through the Internal Affairs Unit of the Guatemalan National Police (PNC) for their complicity in the crime business under investigation. The arrested police officers are members of the TCIU.
“The enforcement action we are taking against vicious smuggling organizations that prey on other vulnerable individuals is unprecedented in scope and scale,” said Alejandro N. Mayorkas, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. “This dismantling through our security investigations is a difficult task. “Example of the thousands of movements we have made to date. Our efforts are being made in partnership with other departments of the federal government and, more importantly, also through increased collaboration with our foreign partners.
“Our special agents will continue to be relentless in their quest to dismantle transnational criminal organizations that seek to profit from these types of businesses without regard for human life,” said the acting director of U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In the U. S. , Tae D. Johnson. La human trafficking is a heinous crime, and HSI will continue to exhaust all available remedies to bring perpetrators to justice. “
In May 2021, HSI opened an investigation with foreign partners into 3 Guatemalan human smuggling networks operating along the Guatemala-El Salvador border. Continuing work with TCIU and the Guatemalan government to disrupt and dismantle regional human smuggling networks, HSI Guatemala’s investigation led to the identity of two other human trafficking netpaints at six hotels in Guatemala City for similar trafficking operations.
In April 2022, DHS unveiled a one-of-a-kind initiative on an unprecedented scale to disrupt and dismantle human smuggling networks. The $60 million crusade resulted in the arrest of over 5000 smugglers and the arrest of over 5500 smuggling operations. in the following six months. These paintings raided hideouts, seized semi-trailers used for migrant smuggling, and confiscated technology from smugglers.
HSI is DHS’s number one investigative arm, guilty of investigating transnational crimes and threats, that is, corrupt organizations that operate the global infrastructure through which foreign trade, travel, and finance transit. HSI’s workforce of more than 10,400 workers includes more than 6,800 special agents assigned to 225 cities in the United States and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s foreign presence represents DHS’s largest investigative presence and one of the largest foreign law enforcement footprints in the United States.
Learn more about ICE