Nine people have pleaded guilty to charges connected to a human trafficking and alien smuggling operation that forced Venezuelan women into commercial sex work at motels across Nashville.
Federal prosecutors said the group recruited vulnerable women in Venezuela with promises of jobs in the United States. After arranging for them to be smuggled into the country, the victims were sent to Nashville and told they owed large smuggling debts that could only be repaid through prostitution.
According to court records, women who refused were threatened with violence against themselves and their families back in Venezuela. Prosecutors said members of the organization took a share of the victims’ earnings while also collecting payments on the inflated debts.
Authorities said Yilibeth Carmen Rivero-de Caldera and her son, Kleiver Daniel Mota Rivero, led the operation and recruited family members, spouses, Mota’s girlfriend, and others to help run the scheme.
Investigators said Rivero, Mota, and Ramon De Jesus Velasquez Martinez used threats and firearms to intimidate victims and force compliance. Prosecutors also said Mota and others convinced victims he was connected to a Venezuelan prison gang and openly discussed his prior homicide prison sentence in Venezuela to create fear.
The defendants arranged for victims to be smuggled into the United States, posted online advertisements for commercial sex, scheduled appointments with customers, and collected money from the encounters, according to prosecutors.
Rivero, Mota, Frankyanna Del Valle Romero-Rivero, and Endrik Alexander Morales-Rivero pleaded guilty to sex trafficking conspiracy, conspiracy to bring migrants into the United States for financial gain, and money laundering conspiracy.
Jesus Enrique Castillo Rodriguez pleaded guilty to sex trafficking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, while Ariannys Beatriz Gutierrez-Carrillo, Yuribetzi Del Valle Gomez Machuca, and Velasquez pleaded guilty to sex trafficking conspiracy charges.
Wilmarys Del Valle Manzano Solorzano pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bring migrants into the United States for financial gain and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Eight of the defendants face potential life sentences, while Manzano faces up to 20 years in prison.
Sentencing hearings are scheduled for the week of Nov. 16.
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