Honduran Human Trafficker Sold Sex Slaves To San Pedro
Tonight there is major news coming out of Honduras saying that a woman was arrested for trafficking teen girls into Belize for prostitution.
A report in La Prensa, a Honduran newspaper, say that Denia Suyapa Ochoa was detained in San Pedro Sula during an operation called "Fire Storm".
Ochoa, who works in the Honduras Ministry of Health and according to the Protection of Women Agency, she would enlist young females - minors - who would be taken to San Pedro, AMBERGRIS CAYE to work at a brothel. That's where, the taproot says, these teenagers would be exploited sexually and forced to do work.
The report says she personally took girls to San Pedro Sula, where someone else would pick them up and transport them to Guatemala and then to Belize.
Now, on the local side of this story, CEO in the Ministry of Human Development Judith Alpuche says Belizean authorities were involved in the operation, and her arrest was as a result of cooperation between Belizean n Honduran authorities. But, Alpuche says they haven't found any trafficked teens - though they did find others. She says, quote, "We identified Honduran nationals who were not trafficking victims but had been smuggled in by her network." She continues, quote, "4 women, not teens came in through her network. During screening for human trafficking they were found to have information on the network and so they were handed over to Honduran authorities for them to go through their legal processes to effect the arrest.
The screening conducted on these 4 by Police did not deem them to be human trafficking victims." End quote.
Ochoa has been charged for human trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation. In Honduras, the penalty for that crime is a prison sentence of not less than 20 years.
Tonight there is major news coming out of Honduras saying that a woman was arrested for trafficking teen girls into Belize for prostitution.
A report in La Prensa, a Honduran newspaper, say that Denia Suyapa Ochoa was detained in San Pedro Sula during an operation called "Fire Storm".
Ochoa, who works in the Honduras Ministry of Health and according to the Protection of Women Agency, she would enlist young females - minors - who would be taken to San Pedro, AMBERGRIS CAYE to work at a brothel. That's where, the taproot says, these teenagers would be exploited sexually and forced to do work.
The report says she personally took girls to San Pedro Sula, where someone else would pick them up and transport them to Guatemala and then to Belize.
Now, on the local side of this story, CEO in the Ministry of Human Development Judith Alpuche says Belizean authorities were involved in the operation, and her arrest was as a result of cooperation between Belizean n Honduran authorities. But, Alpuche says they haven't found any trafficked teens - though they did find others. She says, quote, "We identified Honduran nationals who were not trafficking victims but had been smuggled in by her network." She continues, quote, "4 women, not teens came in through her network. During screening for human trafficking they were found to have information on the network and so they were handed over to Honduran authorities for them to go through their legal processes to effect the arrest.
The screening conducted on these 4 by Police did not deem them to be human trafficking victims." End quote.
Ochoa has been charged for human trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation. In Honduras, the penalty for that crime is a prison sentence of not less than 20 years.
