TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024

Venezuela’s Modeling Agencies Repeatedly Linked to Human Trafficking

Venezuela’s Modeling Agencies Repeatedly Linked to Human Trafficking

As sex trafficking has soared in Venezuela, seemingly legitimate modeling agencies are repeatedly being linked to cases of human trafficking, often sending women abroad.

The most recent case came in late April when the Sambil modeling agency in Venezuela was raided by authorities and four employees arrested on human trafficking charges, including director Jenny Rosales.

Rosales was arrested at Caracas’ Maiquetia international airport as she sought to travel to the Dominican Republic. According to Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab, Rosales took a number of the agency’s models and delivered them to a gang connected to illegal mining in the state of Bolívar. The agency’s owners, Centro Sambil, promptly issued a statement denying any wrongdoing and stating it had no knowledge of any illegal activities.

The investigation into Rosales had begun in March when she allegedly tried to take seven women to the municipality of Sifontes in Bolívar and sell them to a human trafficking ring run by a known gang boss, Fabio Enrique González Isaza, alias “Negro Fabio,” according to women’s rights non-governmental organization, Tinta Violeta, cited by El Pitazo.

InSight Crime Analysis


The Sambil Model scandal is far from the first time modeling agencies have faced such accusations in Venezuela.

In September 2019, the Belankazar modeling agency was found to have allegedly been posting photos of minors, in swimsuits and cocktails dresses, on YouTube, Instagram and Russian social media site VKontakte. Exclusive photos of these children were reportedly offered to paying customers. The children were identified as “Mini Models.”

However, Belankazar’s owners denied that any of these acts were illegal, stating that “in Latin American culture, especially Venezuela, it is more than accepted and normal that girls begin their training as models from an early age.”

Three of Belankazar’s owners were later arrested on charges of child exploitation but the agency remains active and the implicated executives remain prominently listed on its website.

And in 2018, the Miss Venezuela beauty competition was accused of running an alleged prostitution ring, offering its models to rich Venezuelan businessmen. The founder of Miss Venezuela and its director for more than 40 years, Osmel Souza, resigned in March 2018 after a number of former beauty queens accused him of forcing them into sexual work for paying customers. However, he vehemently rejected any involvement in such dealings and has never been charged with any crime.

In 2019, his agency took over the organization of the Miss Argentina and Miss Uruguay beauty pageants.

Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×