Girl kidnapped in Mexico at 11 months old is returned to her mother by Dominican authorities.

Santo Domingo — After completing a specialized program tailored to her case by the Public Ministry‘s Victim Assistance Center, a girl kidnapped in Mexico and taken to the Dominican Republic was returned to her Colombian mother.

Her return to her mother’s mother occurred a few days ago after completing the necessary procedures for the investigation into Miguel Antonio Torres Hernández and/or Kevin León Wooden and/or Shaban Kuka, accused of kidnapping the girl, whom he illegally detained in Mexico and brought into the country under a false identity.

The victim, now 4 years old, was violently separated from her biological mother (of Colombian nationality) in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, when she was 11 months old.

On July 23, the girl’s mother was received at the offices of the National Directorate for Children, Adolescents, and Families (DINNAF), along with a delegation from Interpol and the National Police’s Department of Human Trafficking and Smuggling. That same day, preparations for the girl’s rescue began.

In a raid on the defendants’ residence in the Bella Vista sector, prosecutors rescued, with the support of police officers, the girl, who lived with two other children, who were also placed under the protection of the National Council for Children and Adolescents ( Conani ).

As part of the investigation, the Public Ministry arranged for a DNA test to be performed on the infant and her mother, which showed a 99.9% relationship.

The Attorney General’s Office ordered the girl to enter the victim and witness protection program due to her extremely vulnerable status and the complexity of the process, until she could return to Colombia with her mother, after reestablishing the emotional bond between them.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office expressed its gratitude to Interpol, as well as to the Mexican and Colombian authorities, for their collaboration in resolving this case, which highlights the importance of international cooperation in combating transnational crimes.

In the specific case of the girl, he recalled that Torres Hernández was the romantic partner of the victim’s mother and the girl’s alleged biological father. However, he is not listed as such on the Colombian birth certificate.

On a family trip to Mexico, the minor was illegally detained by Torres Hernández, who changed the girl’s identity and transported her to the Dominican Republic with falsified documents, impersonating her and violating her integrity and fundamental rights.

The mother reported the kidnapping to the Guadalajara Police in Jalisco, initiating an investigation that led to the issuance of an international arrest warrant against Torres Hernández, as well as the activation of an Amber Alert.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office recalled that Miguel Antonio Torres Hernández, arrested with the support of the OIPC-Interpol as a result of an Amber Alert, is serving a three-month preventive detention sentence at the Najayo Men’s Correction and Rehabilitation Center (CCR-17) in San Cristóbal.

Viviana Villarreal Cambero is named as a co-defendant in the case. She actively participated in the illegal scheme to detain and impersonate the minor. She is also currently listed as the girl’s mother in falsified documents. As a condition of bail, the court imposed an RD$800,000 bail on Villarreal Cambero through a contract, a ban on leaving the country, and periodic reporting.

Since July 23, 2025, the General Directorate of Prosecution of the Public Ministry, the National Directorate of Children, Adolescents and Family (Dinnaf) and the National District Prosecutor’s Office are investigating Torres Hernández and Villarreal Cambero for violating the Code for the System of Protection and Fundamental Rights of Children and Adolescents ( Law 136-03 ), the Law on Illicit Trafficking of Migrants and Trafficking in Persons ( 137-03 ) and the Dominican Penal Code.