Guatemala arrests police officers implicated in migrant smuggling ring

GUATEMALA CITY — 

Guatemalan information agents arrested 25 mostly progressive constabulary officers implicated successful a quality trafficking web that operated on a way utilized by mostly U.S.-bound migrants, Interior Minister Francisco Jimenez said connected Tuesday.

Guatemala has been a large transit state for decades for migrants from Latin America and beyond arsenic they question northbound to Mexico's borderline with the United States.

The curate said 2 of the detained constabulary officers were retired, and an further 11 civilians were besides arrested connected charges including wealth laundering connected behalf of an enactment known arsenic "Los Rs."

Guatemalan authorities person said the radical has operated for respective years portion accumulating millions of quetzals, the section currency.

"This enactment made usage of constabulary agents, corrupting them successful bid to warrant the trajectory of the radical who they were trafficking crossed the country," Jimenez said successful a video message.

The Interior Ministry noted that a anterior apprehension of 2 radical who were illegally transporting 10 migrants from Uzbekistan done Guatemala had led to the cognition that yet dismantled the network.

Four vehicles, a firearm and currency were seized, the ministry added successful a statement. It did not disclose wherever the migrants who were being smuggled came from, oregon wherever they would beryllium sent.

The U.S. Embassy successful Guatemala and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security collaborated successful the investigation, Jimenez added.

The U.S. Embassy said connected X the human-trafficking web had exploited astir 10,000 migrants.

In August, Panama launched U.S.-funded migrant deportation flights arsenic Washington seeks to stem the travel of radical traveling to its confederate border, galore seeking amended economical conditions and security.

The aforesaid month, Guatemalan and U.S. authorities announced the associated dismantling of different human-smuggling web with ties to the 2022 deaths of 53 migrants trapped successful a sweltering motortruck successful Texas.