Guatemala City, Guatemala /
The security forces of Guatemala They arrested 35 people, including 25 police officerspresumably linked to a trafficking network of migrants from America, Africa and Asia who sought to emigrate to the United States.
He Public Ministry He explained that in addition to the 25 detained police members, there are three other arrest warrants against four other police officers. National Civil Police (PNC). In addition, another 10 people were captured, allegedly responsible for the migrant trafficking structure.
The prosecutor of the Public Ministry, Marvin Orellana, told reporters that the investigation into the human trafficking network It began in 2021 and “several events have been documented regarding the functioning of the” criminal structure.
Orellana reported in the same way that the network operated with the transfer of migrants to Mexicoinitially, and then to the United States in the towns of:
- Chiquimula (east).
- Guatemala (center).
- Retalhuleu (southwest).
- San Marcos (west).
​Police paid for the transportation used by traffickers
The prosecutor also indicated that no patrols were used for the transfer of migrants in Guatemalan territory, but for payments linked to the criminal network.
According to the investigation, the detained police officers collected bribes from the migrants to allow them to advance through the Guatemalan territory and in other cases, in collusion with the criminal networkthey let them pass without checking them.
Orellana pointed out that the migrants came from America, Africa and Asia, mainly from Ecuador, Venezuela,Cuba, VietnamChina, Russia and Haitiamong other countries.
Officers are tried in Guatemala City
The police were detained in a large operation, to be later transferred to the Tower of Courts of the Judicial Branch Guatemalan, a few kilometers from the center of the Guatemala City.
Every year thousands of people cross the Central American country in search of arrive in the United States in search of better living conditions, according to data from international organizations.
The police officers captured this Tuesday are accused of illicit association, breach of duties, passive bribery and obstruction of justice, based on data from the Public Ministry.
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