Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Venezuela’s Modeling Agencies Repeatedly Linked to Human Trafficking

Venezuela’s Modeling Agencies Repeatedly Linked to Human Trafficking

As sex trafficking has soared in Venezuela, seemingly legitimate modeling agencies are repeatedly being linked to cases of human trafficking, often sending women abroad.

The most recent case came in late April when the Sambil modeling agency in Venezuela was raided by authorities and four employees arrested on human trafficking charges, including director Jenny Rosales.

Rosales was arrested at Caracas’ Maiquetia international airport as she sought to travel to the Dominican Republic. According to Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab, Rosales took a number of the agency’s models and delivered them to a gang connected to illegal mining in the state of Bolívar. The agency’s owners, Centro Sambil, promptly issued a statement denying any wrongdoing and stating it had no knowledge of any illegal activities.

The investigation into Rosales had begun in March when she allegedly tried to take seven women to the municipality of Sifontes in Bolívar and sell them to a human trafficking ring run by a known gang boss, Fabio Enrique González Isaza, alias “Negro Fabio,” according to women’s rights non-governmental organization, Tinta Violeta, cited by El Pitazo.

InSight Crime Analysis


The Sambil Model scandal is far from the first time modeling agencies have faced such accusations in Venezuela.

In September 2019, the Belankazar modeling agency was found to have allegedly been posting photos of minors, in swimsuits and cocktails dresses, on YouTube, Instagram and Russian social media site VKontakte. Exclusive photos of these children were reportedly offered to paying customers. The children were identified as “Mini Models.”

However, Belankazar’s owners denied that any of these acts were illegal, stating that “in Latin American culture, especially Venezuela, it is more than accepted and normal that girls begin their training as models from an early age.”

Three of Belankazar’s owners were later arrested on charges of child exploitation but the agency remains active and the implicated executives remain prominently listed on its website.

And in 2018, the Miss Venezuela beauty competition was accused of running an alleged prostitution ring, offering its models to rich Venezuelan businessmen. The founder of Miss Venezuela and its director for more than 40 years, Osmel Souza, resigned in March 2018 after a number of former beauty queens accused him of forcing them into sexual work for paying customers. However, he vehemently rejected any involvement in such dealings and has never been charged with any crime.

In 2019, his agency took over the organization of the Miss Argentina and Miss Uruguay beauty pageants.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
×