Three Israeli nationals were among 18 persons detained in Columbia during a combined US-Columbian anti-human trafficking operation July 26-29.
According to a statement released by the US, 14 Colombian people were arrested, including a high-ranking Colombian Naval commander and two Colombian National Police officers in the coastal city of Cartagena. ICE stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
According to ICE, the detained Israeli nationals ran a sophisticated network of human trafficking, sex tourism, and child abuse in Colombia for more than a decade.
ICE collaborated with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Bogota, the HSI Bogota Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit (TCIU), and the Colombian Attorney General's office to carry out the operation.
More than a dozen search warrants were executed, according to ICE, targeting companies, apartments, and hotels notorious for supporting and enabling sexual exploitation of women and children.
The operation is the first phase of Operation Vesta, a combined effort by US and Colombian law enforcement.
Approximately 250 victims were identified as a result of the investigation, with ICE claiming that some were tattooed by traffickers.
The combined operation primarily targets transnational criminal businesses in Cartagena engaged in human trafficking, sex tourism, prostitution, child exploitation, and conspiracy.
Members of the HSI Bogotá TCIU are allegedly evaluating forensic evidence gathered during the operation at the Yuliana Samboni Laboratory.
The HSI Intelligence Office and the U.S. The Human Trafficking Unit of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Miami, as well as Colombian Immigration, were critical to Operation Vesta.
The CBP is also carrying out Operation Renegade, which was established to identify victims and targets involved in human trafficking and prostitution who enter or transit through the United States.
HSI opened over 800 human trafficking cases in fiscal year 2017, resulting in over 1,600 arrests and almost 600 convictions. During that period, almost 500 victims of human trafficking were identified.
