NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Eight Venezuelan nationals have been named in a new indictment for their connection to an "unlawful sex business enterprise," which involved bringing women from Central and South America to the United States.
According to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, members of the sex trafficking ring "conspired to target and recruit young, poor, and vulnerable women from Venezuela and other South and Central American counties with the intent of transporting them into the United States and profiting from the women's commercial sex acts."
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Those charged in the indictment include a father and his adult children and two married couples.
At least two individuals connected to the operation—identified as Yilibeth Del Carmen Rivero "Yibi" and Kleiver Daniel Mota Rivero "Kleiber"—allegedly promised the women legitimate work in the U.S. and a place to stay once they arrived.
However, after the women arrived in the United States, members of the sex trafficking ring then told them that they would be charged an "inflated debt" and would be required to perform sex acts to pay it off.
To bring the women to the United States, the suspects reportedly sent funds using electronic payments systems, such as Western Union and MoneyGram, to fund the victims' journey. Then, once the woman arrived, members of the ring posted to services like WhatsApp to negotiate rates for sex acts.
Members of the ring reportedly took the victims to hotels across Nashville and created online advertisements for the women to engage in prostitution.
While speaking on the multi-count indictment, Metro Nashville Police Chief Drake said investigations involving human trafficking will remain a "priority."
“The trafficking of human beings is abhorrent to all of us. It’s a modern-day form of slavery. I want to be clear; our police department will always make human trafficking investigations a priority of our police department regardless of where a suspect is from," said Drake.
The indictment added the women would sometimes have to continue performing sex acts even after the debt was paid after receiving threats of force against themselves and their families, threats of immigration and threats of separation from their children.
In some cases, the suspects would even withhold the victims' access to their identification and immigration documents to keep them working for their benefit. Two members of the sex trafficking ring—Yibi and Kleiber—reportedly had ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA).
During a Tuesday press conference, TBI Director David Rausch ensured Tennesseans the agency is working to dismantle the gang.
“We will not stand by and allow TdA or any criminal organization to get a stronghold in Tennessee. They’re not going to be here, and they will not be allowed to commit crime here," said Raucsh. "We will hunt these bad actors down, we will dismantle them, and we will work with every tool we have under the law to hold these violent criminals accountable.”
Officials said the suspects would use proceeds collected from the illegal acts to rent hotel rooms, purchase condoms and other items needed to continue the prostitution enterprise.
Those named in the indictment are reportedly facing multiple felony charges.
Several agencies, including the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), held a press conference Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 2 p.m. to discuss the multi-count indictment.