Chile police forces have busted a crime ring that smuggles hundreds of children of Haitian migrants to Mexico and the United States.

The crime organization has managed a cross-border network that smuggled around 1,000 Haitian migrants out of Chile, according to an NBC News report.

The figure includes 267 Chilean children under the age of six. The children were born to Haitian migrants, according to Interpol.

Some of the children were not with their real parents. There were also children that were found abandoned, with some being orphaned when their parents died on the journey.

A Haitian man and people from Peru, Paraguay, Venezuela, and Chile were leading the smuggling ring.

Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock said that commented on the children being smuggled, saying it was horrifying to think what they have suffered.

Reuters reported that the smuggling ring had promoted their services to Haitians through messaging service app WhatsApp, according to Interpol.

The crime ring had covertly transport migrants into Peru from Chile.

Chilean police had arrested nine suspects that were involved in the operation, including four Chileans, and two Venezuelans.

A Peruvian, Haitian, and Paraguayan were also arrested.

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Haitian Migrants Fleeing

Thousands of Haitian migrants had come to Chile after the 2010 earthquake, with several of them finding permanent jobs.

However, an economic downturn in 2019 with the pandemic has led many to try to gain admission to the United States, according to The Washington Post report.

Thousands of Haitian migrants had gathered at a bridge in Del Rio, Texas, which led to the U.S. flying some back to Haiti while others were allowed to wait in the U.S. pending hearings.

Many of the Haitian migrants had first stayed in South American countries, such as Chile and Brazil.

Some had reported they had difficulty with work and experienced racism. Chile had also encountered a number of protests in recent weeks against Venezuelan migrants who have camped up in city squares and beaches.

Meanwhile, authorities from Bahamas and Cuba have reported that they intercepted a number of Haitian migrants eyeing to travel the U.S. through the sea, according to an Aljazeera report.

The Royal Bahamas Defense Force had discouraged people from making the journey, saying that it had risked the lives of numerous people.

On the other hand, Cuba's foreign ministry said that there were Haitian migrants who arrived on their eastern and central provinces coasts.

The Haitian migrants were eying to reach the state of Florida.

Officials from both countries said that they would be repatriating the migrants to Haiti. Bahamas said that the repatriations on their side were expected to begin last week.

Haiti is considered to be the poorest country in the Americas. It has also faced widespread poverty, crime, which were exacerbated by natural calamities such as earthquakes and hurricanes.

In addition, the recent killing of the nation's president Jovenel Moise had added to the political turmoil in the country.

The United States has since expelled 5,000 asylum seekers back to Haiti.

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This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Chile protesters clash with police over asylum seekers - from Al Jazeera English