Fifteen individuals accused of involvement in an international human trafficking network were sentenced to 18 months of preventive prison as a coercive measure by the Montecristi Permanent Attention judge following the dismantling of the group by the Public Ministry’s Operation Border. The court also declared the case complex due to the alleged violation of migrant smuggling laws. Those charged in the case include Elbio José Castillo Martínez, Hilario Antonio Gómez Paul, Santo Valerio Contreras, Anelby Susaña Guzmán, Jesús María Cerda Acosta, Anelsy Escarlex Cordero Núñez, and María Rafaela Batista de Cordero, as well as several members of the Dominican Army. The accused were all sent to the Montecristi public prison to serve their sentences.
The group’s leaders and members were allegedly involved in financing, facilitating, and transporting migrants via motorcycles and buses, with the complicity of military personnel assigned to surveillance and control duties in the border area. Haitian citizens were charged between 4,500 and 8,000 pesos to cross into Dominican territory. During the investigation, authorities discovered 24 Haitian immigrants, including men, pregnant women, children, and adolescents, who were held in clandestine collection centers used by the criminal organization before being transported to various provinces of the country through established routes. The operation, which involved 16 raids in different parts of the country, began in February of this year.