Cozumel, Q.R. — Cozumel police rescued 13 victims of human trafficking from an island bar Wednesday night. The victims were all women forced into prostitution. Among the rescued adult women were eight Mexicans, two Colombians, one Salvadoran, one Brazilian and one Belizean.
The women were removed from the Cozumel bar after authorities executed a search warrant of the building. In a statement, police said “thirteen alleged victims of human trafficking in the form of prostitution were rescued during the execution of a search warrant by the State Attorney General’s Office.
The search was carried out “in coordination with elements of the National Guard in a bar located in this municipality. Elements of the Investigative Police assigned to the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Crimes of Trafficking carried out the search warrant due to the alleged presence of minors in the business.
“At the end of the operation, the 13 women were transferred to the FGE facilities on the island for the corresponding procedures, while the agents proceeded to place the closure seals on the property.”
The bar has since been placed under FGE protection where police continue to investigate the bar’s activities.
