Nine Venezuelan nationals have pleaded guilty for their roles in a family-run sex trafficking ring that operated in the Nashville area.
Federal prosecutors said the organization recruited women in Venezuela with false promises of employment, arranged their smuggling into the United States, and transported them to Tennessee.
Upon arrival, victims were informed they owed inflated smuggling debts that could only be repaid through forced commercial sex acts.
Court documents show that women who resisted faced threats of violence against themselves and family members remaining in Venezuela.
Traffickers profited by collecting on the fabricated debts and taking a portion of the victims' earnings.
Authorities identified Yilibeth Carmen Rivero-de Caldera and her son, Kleiver Daniel Mota Rivero, as the leaders of the scheme.
Investigators said the pair and co-defendant Ramon De Jesus Velasquez Martinez used firearms and threats to intimidate victims into compliance.
Prosecutors alleged Mota invoked ties to a Venezuelan prison gang and referenced a prior homicide conviction to deter victims from escaping.
Eight defendants pleaded guilty to charges carrying a maximum penalty of life in prison, while a ninth faces up to 20 years.
Sentencing is scheduled for the week of November 16.
The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations alongside the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
