RIO DE JANEIRO/SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Brazilian authorities officially announced on Tuesday, July 15, that they rescued 31 Paraguayans from slave-like conditions in illegal tobacco factories in the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo through two separate operations. These operations are part of the Brazilian government's ongoing crackdown on human trafficking and illegal tobacco production organizations.

Rio de Janeiro police found 17 Paraguayans in the city of Duque de Caxias. They were discovered during an operation to dismantle a tobacco trafficking organization, which was involved in several crimes, including murder, in Rio. Duque de Caxias is a poor area in the Rio metropolitan region, rife with violence and illegal tobacco production. Approximately 10 million Brazilian Reais (about 2.6 billion KRW) worth of industrial machinery, raw materials, and boxes of tobacco ready for distribution were seized at the scene.

Almost simultaneously, the Federal Police launched an operation to dismantle an international criminal organization involved in human trafficking and illegal tobacco manufacturing across three states: São Paulo, Paraná, and Mato Grosso. In this operation, an additional 14 Paraguayans were rescued in the city of Ourinhos, São Paulo state.

Investigations revealed that the organization lured Paraguayan citizens with false job promises and primarily brought them into Brazil by illegally crossing the Paraguay-Brazil border through the city of Guaíra/PR. Upon arrival in Ourinhos, they faced a reality entirely different from what was promised.

According to the Federal Police's announcement, the 14 Paraguayans rescued from the Ourinhos factory were confined to a facility capable of producing 60,000 packs of cigarettes per day. They were forced into labor until they collapsed from exhaustion in unsanitary conditions, and their contact with the outside world was completely cut off. Approximately 50 federal agents participated in this operation, executing 7 search warrants and 2 preventive detention orders, and seizing assets worth 20 million Brazilian Reais (approximately 5.2 billion KRW).

The operation was named 'Chrysós,' which means 'gold' in Greek. This name ironically refers to the immense monetary value that this criminal organization gained through human exploitation and illegal production. It implies that for the organization, 'gold' was not tobacco, but the lives and sweat of the voiceless.

In 2024 alone, 2,004 people were rescued from slave-like labor conditions in Brazil. This demonstrates the Brazilian government's active efforts to eradicate human trafficking and forced labor. By region, Minas Gerais state saw the highest number of rescues with 500 people, followed by São Paulo state with 467. Bahia state followed with 198, Goiás state with 155, Pernambuco state with 137, and Mato Grosso do Sul state with 105. Despite these ongoing rescue operations, it is evident that many vulnerable individuals in Brazil continue to suffer from modern-day slave labor.

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