MIAMI – Colombia has emerged as a hub for the child sex tourism industry, prompting heightened scrutiny.
In an unique interview with Local 10 News Thursday, Anthony Salisbury, Homeland Security Investigations Miami’s Special Agent in Charge, spoke concerning the ongoing tasks aimed toward fighting sexual predators from using Miami as a gateway to milk some of the arena’s maximum prone youngsters out of the country.
“What we are talking about here is child sex tourism and it is not well understood and certainly an uncomfortable topic for people to talk about,” he mentioned. “We very frequently see the United States being a launching pad for people who want to sexually exploit children overseas.”
“These people are going to other countries, typically third world, to exploit some of the most vulnerable children in the world,” Salisbury added. “They travel because they believe that there is a lack of security, they can get away with their crimes, they can conceal them easier as opposed to the very robust law enforcement apparatus we have in the United States.”
Salisbury additionally make clear the gravity of child sex tourism, acknowledging its uncomfortable nature whilst emphasizing HSI’s in depth collaboration with federal legislation enforcement businesses out of the country to struggle those crimes via information sharing and coordinated investigations.
“Homeland Security Investigations has one of the largest presences overseas,” mentioned Salisbury. “We work daily with federal law enforcement in these countries. We are absolutely sharing information and we absolutely investigate you from these activities. HSI does not want the United States to be a launching pad for criminals who go overseas and exploit children.”
Watch Local 10 News’ complete interview with Salisbury right here:
Recent instances underscore the severity of the problem.
A Miami pharmacist, Stefan Andres Correa, was once apprehended all over a border seek with incriminating proof, together with textual content messages with a suspected child sex trafficker and movies depicting sexual acts with minors.
Jail data display Correa faces fees together with tried sex trafficking of a child, revealing the alarming occurrence of such actions originating from Miami.
Authorities mentioned simply as Correa stepped onto a Miami International Airport jet bridge to board a flight to Bogotá final an outbound border seek published the 42-year-old — touring on my own — was once sporting about 9 mobile phones.
On some of the ones gadgets, Homeland Security Investigations brokers primarily based out of MIA would uncover footage and movies of Correa raping younger ladies and a dialog with a sex trafficker about his plans to victimize an 11-year-old woman, prosecutors allege.
Court paperwork state that in a graphic collection of textual content messages, Correa promised that each the trafficker and the woman would get $300,000 Colombian pesos — about $75 — and the woman would obtain an iPhone, so long as he was once allowed to rape her in Medellín.
Investigators disclosed that Correa had traveled to Colombia roughly 45 instances in the previous two years, a revelation that sparked outrage from Medellin’s mayor.
“Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence, particularly out of Miami,” mentioned Salisbury.
“This is one of just many cases?” requested Local 10 News reporter Christina Vazquez.
“It falls in with one of HSI’s investigative priorities and that is child exploitation specifically child sex tourism,” Salisbury spoke back.
Salisbury additionally highlighted every other arrest involving a person performing as a facilitator for child sex tourism in Colombia. This particular person organized commute logistics for predators and facilitated the procurement of minors for sexual exploitation, underscoring the sophistication of the community.
HSI brokers are actively participating with Colombian government to dismantle those networks and prosecute offenders. Salisbury issued a stark caution, emphasizing that folks searching for to milk youngsters out of the country from Miami will face penalties.
“He would arrange their airfare, get them a lodge, or even maximum heinously he would ask them, ‘What type of child do you want? Boy, girl, size, age?’ and he would say ‘I am going to go look for them. I am going to the town square and grab them, basically kidnap kids.”’
“Do you think it may surprise some people about how sophisticated the network of child sex tourism is?” asked Vazquez.
“I think all of it would surprise people,” said Salisbury. “Especially with cyber-enabled crimes, chatrooms, and dark web, there is a level of sophistication here that HSI has the expertise to tackle. It is more than just sharing pictures. Cyber-enabled crime has allowed the reach to broaden, allowed these child exploitation people to broaden their reach and HSI has adapted to adapt with the technology that has facilitated this crime to pursue investigations.”
HSI agents are collaborating with Colombian authorities in a joint effort to crack down on the sexual exploitation of children in Colombia. The two nations are working closely to combat this disturbing trend, with investigations underway on both sides of the border.
”You are not going to be safe traveling to foreign countries out of Miami to sexually exploit children,” said Salisbury.
Colonel Edwin Urrego Pedraza, Director of Colombia’s National Police, equipped insights into ongoing efforts to dismantle prison networks concerned in child exploitation. He disclosed that investigations published common commute via suspects to Colombia, with one particular person making over 40 journeys in two years, allegedly to determine connections with sex traffickers.
“He was arrested at the moment he thought he was going to leave the country,” mentioned Pedraza. “He would travel solo to Colombia — more than 40 times, we learned, over two years — making contact with sex traffickers in the country.”
In the case of Correa, ongoing investigations center of attention at the prison community in Medellín that provided Correa with youngsters for exploitation. At provide, government say they have got known and are safeguarding a minimum of 5 sufferers.
Both HSI and Colombian government percentage a resolute message to doable perpetrators: don’t try to exploit youngsters in Colombia.
They underscore that such movements might not be tolerated, emphasizing that each international locations are operating diligently to forestall the United States from getting used as a launching pad for sex predators.
In addition, Salisbury emphasised the significance of group vigilance in fighting child exploitation. He inspired folks to file any suspicions to the HSI tip line or native legislation enforcement, stressing the importance of collective motion in safeguarding youngsters.
Correa is scheduled to look in federal courtroom for arraignment the following day, in line with the most recent federal docket.
Local 10 News has additionally discovered that Correa has no longer been hired since August 2023.
“Through HSI attachés and other offices, HSI special agents stationed internationally work with foreign governments, INTERPOL, Europol, and other counterparts to enhance coordination and cooperation on child exploitation related crimes that cross borders,” according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s website.
Read extra on methods to acknowledge sex trafficking via clicking here.
How we will be able to assist every different
Authorities imagine operating in combination is essential to combatting child exploitation. Here’s what they are saying you’ll do to assist:
• Stay knowledgeable: Use Project iGuardian and Know2Protect to spot methods to safeguard our youngsters from victimization.
• Report: Report suspected child exploitation to the HSI tip line at 1-877-4-HSI-TIP or during the CyberTipline at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s web page.
• Support: Spread the phrase concerning the real-life have an effect on HSI has in preventing child predators and rescuing sufferers.
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