Children abandoned on the road: the drama of victims of Haiti's lucrative migrant trafficking network
Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
News
Sources not specified
Outcome reported
- A human trafficking network that smuggled migrants from Haiti to Chile has been dismantled, leaving at least seven children abandoned.
- Families paid up to 3 million pesos for reunification, but the minors never reached Chile, ending up in shelters in the Dominican Republic.
- Network leaders are in prison, with estimated profits nearing 800 million pesos.
At least seven Haitian children and adolescents, aged between 4 and 16, have been left abandoned following the collapse of a lucrative human trafficking network that operated between Chile and Haiti.
Families reportedly paid as much as 3 million Chilean pesos (approximately $3,100 USD) for the promise of family reunification in Santiago. However, the minors never arrived in Chile. Instead, they ended up in shelters and foster homes in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where some remained for months.
One child was eventually deported back to Haiti without being reunited with his father. Others remain separated from their families to this day. The leaders of the trafficking ring have been formally charged and are currently in prison. The network's profits are estimated to be around 800 million pesos (approximately $830,000 USD).
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by BioBioChile in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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