(AGENPARL) – mer 14 dicembre 2022 14 December 2022
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More than 250 human traffickers and people smugglers behind
bars after Pan American police operation
Operation Turquesa IV aimed to identify and dismantle criminal organizations
exploiting the world’s most vulnerable
LYON,
France
countries.
The fourth in INTERPOL’s ‘Turquesa’ series of operations, the five
day (28 November
2 December)
operation saw Latin American investigators use INTERPOL capabilities to work with police forces on all continents
to generate investigative leads and disrupt
the global crime groups behind people trafficking and migrant
smuggling.
Frontline officers conducted controls at trafficking and smuggling hotspots identified ahead of operations,
with particular emphasis on transit points such as airports, bus terminal
s and border crossings.
Although results are still coming in, preliminary reporting points to the arrest of 268 individuals suspected of
involvement in migrant smuggling, human trafficking, or associated crime such as document fraud and sexual
offences.
total of 9,015 irregular migrants were detected, and 128 women and two men rescued from human
trafficking. Most of the trafficked victims were from Colombia and Venezuela.
Global trafficking crossroads
Multiple cases involved the interception in Central
America of migrant men, women and children from all
Americas (Venezuela, Cuba), Africa (Angola, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Ethiopia) and Asia (Bang
ladesh and Nepal).
(Afghanistan, China, India, Kyrgyzstan, and Nepal), Africa (Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria and
Togo) as well as
the Americas (Haiti and Ecuador) towards the US and Canada.
Honduras authorities arrested a 30
old woman for the organized sexual exploitation of three minors
and Guatemala police arrested a similarly aged woman on suspicion of both human traffickin
g and migrant
smuggling.
El Salvador authorities arrested a number of women suspected of trafficking their own children, including a
disabled girl, who were destined for sexual exploitation.
Chilean police controls on the border with Bolivia and Peru saw
300 migrants from Venezuela and Bolivia,
14 December 2022
Page
Illustrating the growing trafficking lin
k between Latin America and Europe, Bolivia arrested a Red Notice
subject wanted by Spain for sexual abuse, and in Paraguay a woman who was the subject of a Red Notice for human
trafficking and sexual exploitation, was arrested attempting to traffic her ni
ece to Spain for sexual exploitation.
“Human trafficking and migrant smuggling are multi
billion euro criminal industries, bankrolling the world’s
most dangerous organized crime groups and violating the fundamental rights of victims in the process,” said
“The stories we hear of exploitation on global migrant trails in operations like Turquesa IV are heartbreaking,
and law enforcement has a duty to safeguard the victims while bringing the perpetrators to justice,” a
dded
Sustainable, long
term impact
To share contemporary investigation and victim interview techniques, strengthen the region’s ability to
investigate cases of human trafficking and migrant smuggling, and support cooperation at the
regional and
international levels, Turquesa IV’s action phase was preceded by training workshops.
INTERPOL's National Central Bureau in Chile supported participating countries’ operational and investigative
needs throughout the week
long operation by host
ing a dedicated coordination unit staffed by local and INTERPOL
experts on financial crime, human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
A cross
sector, coordinated approach involving CARICOM IMPACS, UNODC, IOM and Europol enabled
Operation Turquesa IV to co
mbine collective strengths and exchange best practices for maximum results on the
ground whilst also ensuring victims received appropriate care and protection throughout the judicial processes.
Funded by GAC Global Affairs Canada, Operation Turquesa IV i
s the second operation of its kind to be
coordinated with the support of INTERPOL’s ‘PROTEGER’ Project which aims to strengthen law enforcement
capacity in Latin America and the Caribbean to stem migrant smuggling, with special attention to gender
consider
ations.