Florida, USA– Florida authorities rescued 163 minors who were missing or considered at risk of trafficking, abuse, and exploitation during a broad international operation that also led to the arrest of three suspects.
The operation, named “State Shield”, was carried out over five days and was focused on identifying, locating, and recovering children and adolescents between 2 months and 17 years of age.
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According to the Florida Attorney General’s office, James Uthmeier, many of the rescued minors had been exposed to varying levels of abuse, neglect, exploitation, and other criminal activities, including human trafficking.
In addition to the rescues carried out in Florida, the operation extended to other areas of the United States, including Alabama, California, Ohio, New York, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, and Tennessee.
The authorities also reported that the operation had an international scope, with coordinated actions in more than a dozen countries, including Colombia, Spain, and Mexico.
Investigations are ongoing to determine potential additional responsibilities and to establish whether there are more individuals linked to exploitation or trafficking networks related to the cases detected during the operation.
