Cancun, Q.R. — The six minors who were rescued from forced labor in the Cancun Hotel Zone last week were from out-of-state. According to the state attorney general, Oscar Montes de Oca, the minors were recruited in other states and brought to Quintana Roo.
Montes del Oca reported that the two males arrested in relation to the forced labor of the minors took advantage of their precarious financial situation, offering them work and money. He explained that the minors worked from 8:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. in a shopping center in the Cancun Hotel Zone and were forced to work in exchange for food and a little money that would attend to basic needs.
The six minors lived in a room located in a central part of the city from where they were taken to the Cancun Hotel Zone every night to sell handicrafts.
Oscar Montes de Oca said the minors were rescued after a two-week undercover operation. They were removed from their selling point in the hotel zone after authorities confirmed the two males were in charge of supervising the children as well as sending the handicraft products to the minors so that they could market them.
“In two weeks we were able to identify the minors and that there were two adults who were guarding them and who gave them the merchandise in addition to keeping very close surveillance. A covert strategy was carried out and we were able to rescue the six minors who were selling handicrafts. These two individuals brought them from other states and forced them to sell handicrafts,” he explained.
The six minors were transferred into state care for assessment and to see if authorities can locate their parents or return them home. The two males were arrested by agents of the Human Trafficking Investigation Unit.
