9 Venezuelan nationals plead guilty to sex trafficking ring operation in Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Nine Venezuelan nationals have pleaded guilty to several charges in connection with a sex trafficking ring operated across several motels in Nashville.

According to the United States Department of Justice, court documents show the defendants targeted vulnerable Venezuelan women in their human trafficking and smuggling scheme by recruiting them to the U.S. with promises of employment.

Once the women made it to the U.S., they were directed to Nashville, where they were told they owed an inflated smuggling debt that could only be repaid through commercial sex work, officials said.

If the women resisted, they were threatened with physical harm against themselves and their families in Venezuela. Each of the defendants would take a cut of the women’s earnings to make a profit, according to the DOJ. “This criminal organization exploited vulnerable women, enriched itself through coercion and violence, and showed complete disregard for human dignity and the rule of law,” U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Braden H. Boucek said. “We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to hold human traffickers accountable, dismantle transnational criminal organizations operating in our communities, and ensure justice for victims.”

The following people pleaded guilty in connection with their involvement in the sex trafficking ring. The charges they pleaded guilty to are also listed:

• Yilibeth Carmen Rivero-de Caldera “Rivero”
  • Sex trafficking conspiracy, conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States for financial gain and conspiracy to commit money laundering
• Kleiver Daniel Mota Rivero “Mota”
  • Sex trafficking conspiracy, conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States for financial gain and conspiracy to commit money laundering
• Ramon De Jesus Velasquez Martinez “Velasquez”
  • Sex trafficking conspiracy
• Wilmarys Del Valle Manzano Solorzano “Manzano”
  • Conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States for financial gain and conspiracy to commit money laundering
• Endrik Alexander Morales-Rivero “Morales”
  • Sex trafficking conspiracy, conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States for financial gain and conspiracy to commit money laundering
• Ariannys Beatriz Gutierrez-Carrillo “Gutierrez”
  • Sex trafficking conspiracy
• Frankyanna Del Valle Romero-Rivero “Romero”
  • Sex trafficking conspiracy, conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States for financial gain and conspiracy to commit money laundering
• Jesus Enrique Castillo Rodriguez “Castillo”
  • Sex trafficking conspiracy and conspiracy to commit money laundering
• Yuribetzi Del Valle Gomez Machuca “Gomez”
  • Sex trafficking conspiracy

According to the DOJ, Rivero and her son, Mota, led and managed the scheme. Rivero’s adult children and their spouses, including Mota’s girlfriend, were also enlisted in various roles in the scheme.

Rivero, Mota and Velasquez each threatened the women, including while wielding firearms, to coerce the women into complying with the organization’s demands. Mota also made victims believe she was involved with a Venezuelan prison gang and discussed her previous stay in prison for homicide in Venezuela, officials said.

All nine defendants arranged or assisted in the smuggling of the victims into the U.S., posted online commercial sex advertisements, set up the commercial sex appointments with men who responded to the ads and collected proceeds of the commercial sex acts, according to the DOJ.Officials said the charges that Rivero, Mota, Romero, Morales, Castillo, Gutierrez, Gomez and Velasquez pleaded guilty to carry a statutory maximum penalty of life in prison. Manzano pleaded guilty to charges carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.The defendants will be scheduled the week of Nov. 16, according to the DOJ.

“We have said it before, and these guilty pleas reiterate: if you lure vulnerable people to this country with lies, force them into sexual exploitation, and profit from their suffering, we will find you, dismantle your operation, and hold you accountable,” Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said. “This case is a powerful reminder that when our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners stand together, there is no haven for human traffickers.”