Julián Guzmán Mejía: Alleged Child Trafficker Linked to Political Campaigns and Chile’s Interior Ministry

Original article: Revelan que imputado por tráfico de niños haitianos prestó servicios al gobierno de Piñera y fue proveedor de campañas de RN

Alleged Child Trafficker Linked to Political Campaigns and Chile’s Interior Ministry during Piñera’s Administration

The Accused and His Institutional Connections

Dominican lawyer Julián Guzmán Mejía, president of the National Federation of Migrants and Refugees (Fenamir), has been identified by the Central North Prosecutor’s Office as a member of a migrant trafficking and money laundering organization. Since at least 2024, this group has illegally transported Haitian minors seeking to reunite with their families. His role involved smuggling children from Haiti through unauthorized routes into the Dominican Republic and posing as their guardian to local authorities, as detailed in a report by the Chilean Public Prosecutor’s Office, CIPER Chile reported by journalists Daniel Meza Riquelme and Macarena Segovia.

CIPER Chile also revealed that the Dominican man accused of human trafficking was a political activist linked to Chile’s center-right and was a campaign provider for Renovación Nacional in 2021. In October of that year, he established Integra Resources Spa alongside Colombian Julián Flórez, whom he had known since early 2018. The company is listed in Servel’s records as a supplier for Renovación Nacional during the 2021 parliamentary elections, providing «Communication Marketing Advisory for Resident Foreign Vote,» and received a payment of $12.4 million, according to CIPER Chile‘s investigation.

Direct Contract with the Interior Ministry

In 2018, Guzmán provided external services for the Interior Ministry, then headed by Rodrigo Ubilla, through the consultancy Abenis, for a Humanitarian Return Plan developed by the Migration Department, supervised by Álvaro Bellolio. According to documents reconstructed by CIPER Chile, this company was contracted via direct agreement and without consulting other market providers on the same day Ubilla signed the resolution establishing the plan’s foundation on October 16, 2018.

On June 26 of this year, Meganoticias revealed that it was here where Julián Guzmán accessed the database of migrants entering Chile, which the criminal organization allegedly exploited to identify Haitian families eligible for family reunification visas. The ministry issued a purchase order to pay for Abenis’s services totaling 552 UF, equivalent to $15,199,872 at that time, as noted by CIPER Chile.

Campaign Activities and Political Connections

The activities carried out by Integra Resources SpA for RN during the 2021 campaign were documented in an eight-page report sent to CIPER Chile by both Julián Flórez and the party. The document details that the company developed a communication strategy for candidates running for parliament and senate focused on the foreign community eligible to vote; held a series of Zoom and in-person meetings with the migrant community; coordinated interviews with an influencer, and made 44,000 phone calls.

When questioned by CIPER Chile, the communications team of Renovación Nacional replied that the company contacted them offering advisory services to engage with the migrant vote. Regarding accusations against Julián Guzmán Mejía, RN stated: «We deeply regret the information disclosed in 2024 concerning possible human trafficking; if true, we hope justice conducts a swift and thorough investigation, and that exemplary penalties are applied if convicted.»

To learn all the details of this investigation and access the full report, please visit the following link from CIPER Chile.

The Same Individual Accused of Trafficking Haitian Children Who Provided Services to the Interior Ministry Was a Campaign Supplier for RN in 2021