Venezuelan nationals convicted in Tennessee sex trafficking, alien smuggling ring

According to court documents, the defendants recruited women in Venezuela by offering employment opportunities, then arranged for them to be smuggled into the United States before directing them to Nashville, Tennessee. Once they arrived, prosecutors said the women were told they owed large, inflated smuggling debts that could only be repaid through commercial sex work. Women who resisted were allegedly threatened with violence against themselves and their families back in Venezuela.

Federal prosecutors said the organization also profited by taking a share of the victims' earnings in addition to collecting payments on the fabricated smuggling debts.

"Human smuggling and trafficking operations represent a dangerous convergence of exploitation and lawlessness," Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said in a statement. "These perpetrators profited off human suffering while chipping away at the integrity of our border. These convictions show that protecting vulnerable individuals and securing our border are not competing goals."

According to the Justice Department, Yilibeth Carmen Rivero-de Caldera and her son, Kleiver Daniel Mota Rivero, led the criminal enterprise by recruiting family members and associates to help manage the operation. Prosecutors allege the pair, along with co-defendant Ramon De Jesus Velasquez Martinez, used firearms and threats of violence to intimidate victims into compliance.

From left to right: Yilibeth Carmen Rivero-de Caldera, Kleiver Daniel Mota Rivero

Investigators also said Mota cultivated a reputation as someone connected to a Venezuelan prison gang and openly referenced a prior homicide prison sentence in Venezuela to further frighten the women into obedience.

Authorities said members of the trafficking ring coordinated the victims' illegal entry into the United States, posted online advertisements for commercial sex, arranged appointments with customers, and collected the proceeds.

The defendants pleaded guilty to varying combinations of sex trafficking conspiracy, conspiracy to bring aliens into the United States for financial gain, and money laundering conspiracy. Eight of the defendants face offenses carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison, while one defendant pleaded guilty to charges carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years behind bars.

Sentencing is scheduled for the week of November 16, with a federal judge determining the final punishment after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The investigation was conducted by the Homeland Security Task Force in Nashville, a multi-agency partnership that includes Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, ATF, IRS Criminal Investigation, the US Marshals Service, DEA, Secret Service, and other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

The Justice Department said the case is also part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established under Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, which targets transnational criminal organizations involved in human trafficking, alien smuggling, and cartel-related crimes. Prosecutors said the case also received support from Joint Task Force Alpha, the DOJ's specialized initiative focused on dismantling large-scale human smuggling and trafficking networks operating throughout the Americas.

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