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Couple arrested in human trafficking operation
Regina Gonzalez reports
TAMPA, Fla. - Eight women from Cuba are now safe after detectives with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office's human trafficking task force received a tip about one victim who was smuggled into the U.S. through Mexico's border, and threatened into sex work to pay off her "travel debt," officials said.
They quickly learned that she wasn't alone.
In a press conference Monday, Sheriff Chad Chronister explained that the women, who ranged in age from 18-24, traveled from Cuba to the U.S - Mexico border through an operation they thought was getting them into this country to start a new life. He added they were even greeted with balloons and welcome signs.
What came next was never the life they imagined, he described. They were brought to the Tampa Bay area - forced to work as prostitutes and strippers at various adult entertainment clubs in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, the sheriff described, all to pay off debts of $60,000 each, the cost of smuggling them into the U.S.
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After just a few days, surveillance operations allowed detectives to follow seven women as they were being escorted to the International Plaza last Thursday. That's where they intercepted and rescued the women, detectives said.
They also got a search warrant for two properties where the women were being held. That's where they found the eighth victim and got a glimpse at the heinous living conditions they were trapped into. They slept in groups on bunk beds in small bedrooms, officials described. Their cell phones and legal documents were kept as ransom, and they also had to pay for food, rent, and gas that was being used to bring them on dates set up by their traffickers.
They were threatened at gunpoint on a regular basis by traffickers who also threatened to hurt their families, Sheriff Chronister said.
"This organized criminal enterprise was nothing short of modern-day slavery," he stated. "I have no doubt that if our human trafficking investigators had not acted as quickly as they did, this situation would've continued, expanded, and could've ended with one of these victims losing their lives at the hands of one of these traffickers."
A couple was arrested in this case: 35-year-old Amet Maquiera and 29-year-old Rosalia Garcia. Each are facing 47 charges including human trafficking, human smuggling, false imprisonment, and RICO.
All eight women received medical care and were connected with safe housing and other services they may need. Sheriff Chronister said they've been interviewed by immigration attorneys and it will be up to the federal government on whether they are deported back to Cuba.
"This is one of the worst trafficking cases that I have seen," Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said. "In this case, I am extraordinarily proud of the brave, courageous women who lived through hell for months, not knowing if they would be able to get out of that situation."