WASHINGTON, July 15 -- The U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Division issued the following news release:
Nine criminal aliens from Venezuela have pleaded guilty to human trafficking, alien smuggling, and money laundering charges related to a sex trafficking ring operated in several motels in Nashville, Tennessee.
According to court documents, the defendants orchestrated a human trafficking and smuggling scheme targeting vulnerable Venezuelan women, recruiting them to the U.S. with promises of employment. After arranging and facilitating their smuggling into the U.S., the defendants directed the women to Nashville. Once there, the women were told they owed an inflated smuggling debt, which they could only repay through commercial sex ...