Operation Montecristo: they disrupted a network that swindled Cuban exiles in Uruguay

The operation began in Havana. Cubans who wanted to flee the Castro regime because they were in Uruguay or make an intermediate stop on the way to the United States were caught here..

First, they went from Cuba to Guyana, where no visa is required to enter. Once the payment, which had been previously agreed, was made, they were moved to a house where they would be safe until the arrival of other travelers. Here they were divided according to final destination and amount of money in possession.

The next was to be moved by land to Boa Vista, a city in northern Brazil that is very close to the border with Guyana. There they also stayed in a house that provided the organization and continued only when it was safe to resume travel. They traveled by bus or cabotage flights throughout Brazil, passing through Manaus and Porto Alegre.

They ended up in Brazilian cities bordering Uruguay as Chui or Santana do Livramento from where, later, they would enter Uruguay. Once inside, some settled as refugees and others reconnected with trafficking networks of illegal people. They were charged between $ 6,000 and $ 7,000 which, according to the Ministry of the Interior, used to be paid by the relatives of the Cubans themselves from the United States.

After several months of intelligence work, Interpol and the DGLCCO (Directorate General for the Fight against Organized Crime) determined how to operate the international criminal organization engaged in trafficking in Cuban migrants.

A flattening was carried out in a house in Montevideo, finding evidence of payments in Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico and Peru. Along with the money, the original passports of the Cubans were also sent so that they would be made illegally and the Cubans could travel with them.

After the investigation 34 people involved in the trafficking network who were seeking refuge were arrested. All of Cuban nationality are 21 men and 13 women, between 35 and 45 years old.

Twelve of these people were convicted of the crime of using a false public certificate, with a sentence of six months in prison, which will be served under probation. 18 visas and 34 passports were also confiscated.

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