Photo credit: WPLG
A man, Emmanuel Garcia Guzman, has been arrested for trafficking Cuban immigrants for prostitution.
Arizona’s Family reports that it’s part of a problem across the border of the United States.
Guzman was arrested during a sting operation on Friday. To add to his problems, court documents say he is in the country illegally. However, he has a home in Texas.
A detective had set up a sex-for-money deal with one of the women being trafficked, according to court paperwork. Guzman took the bait by driving her to a hotel near Interstate 10 and Avondale Boulevard Friday night. She went into the hotel while Guzman stayed in the car. Police then arrested Guzman.
Police did not arrest the woman. The woman confessed she was in the US illegally and was using the proceeds of prostitution to fend for her family back home.
Moroni Mendez of the Glendale Police Department said, “She said she was forced into this work because of financial necessity. She has three children in Cuba and her mother, to whom she constantly sends money to support and help them live.”
Police said Guzman told them he was making food deliveries at the hotel but later admitted he had driven the woman to the hotel. According to Mendez, his arrest is part of the battle against a human trafficking problem involving Cuban nationals in the Houston, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Miami areas.
