Three suspects have been indicted after prosecutors said they brought Cuban migrants to South Florida and held them hostage at a Hialeah home while demanding thousands of dollars.
Didier Perez Perez, Lester Leyniel Soca Diaz, and Yoandy Alonso were indicted by a Miami Southern District of Florida Grand Jury on Thursday, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.
All three are beoing held pending trial.
Prosecutors said the Cubans were brought to the Florida Keys and taken to a migrant stash house in Hialeah, where they were held for a $15,000 ransom.
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The migrants were threatened, including being told they'd be left in the middle of the ocean if their smuggling debts weren't paid, officials said.
The captured migrants were rescued when law enforcement accompanied a migrant's friend to the hostage exchange point, prosecutors said.
All three suspects are charged with conspiracy to transport and harbor aliens for profit, transporting aliens for profit, conspiracy to commit hostage taking and hostage taking.
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The case was investigated by the FBI, Hialeah Police and Homeland Security.