51 Women Rescued from Traffickers in Mexico

MEXICO CITY – Mexican authorities rescued 51 women from traffickers and arrested seven people, the capital district attorney’s office said Monday.

The suspects hired the women as dancers, but then forced them to perform nude and engage in prostitution at two bars in Mexico City’s Cuauhtemoc borough, the office said in a statement.

For a three-drink minimum, patrons at the La Tirada and By Latino establishments were entitled to have sex with the women for a fee subject to negotiation, according to the statement.

The investigation was launched in response to an anonymous tip from an employee at one of the bars.

Police arrested bar owner Francisco Javier Soto along with Gerardo Panfilo Guerrero, Ruben Lopez, German Bolaños, Juan Carlos Rodriguez, Jose de Jesus Echeverria and Hugo Cesar Cubillos.

The women rescued from the traffickers are receiving psychological counseling and legal advice, the DA’s office said.