Overview
- DPS Criminal Investigations Division and Homeland Security Investigations made the arrests after a year-long inquiry in El Paso County.
- Mario Ortiz Saroldi, 38, an attorney who represented some defendants, was charged with solicitation of prostitution and booked into the El Paso County Jail.
- Yasiel Rodriguez-Amaro, 31, and Katherine Ventura-Amaro, 37, were arrested on aggravated and online promotion of prostitution charges as well as possession of a controlled substance.
- Authorities say victims from Cuba were compelled to engage in prostitution in the U.S. to satisfy smuggling debts.
- Investigators report that co-conspirators advertised victims online and transported them to locations across El Paso, and some suspects have not been publicly identified as the investigation continues.