Two Guatemalan men are facing serious charges after police uncovered a human trafficking operation in Lake Worth Beach, Florida. The house, which authorities described as “actively being used as a brothel,” was where two women were allegedly held captive and forced into prostitution. The suspects, Yudvin and Glin Zunigalatin are charged with human trafficking, profiting from prostitution, running a “house of ill fame,” and resisting arrest. Glin Zunigalatin faces additional charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and sexual battery, adding to the severity of the case.
Authorities were first alerted in the early hours of 9th February when a distressed woman made a desperate phone call around 7:45 a.m. She told emergency dispatchers she had been sexually assaulted, was being held against her will, and feared for her life. “I don’t want to die,” she reportedly said. However, she was unable to provide her exact location, making it difficult for police to track her down. She explained that she had been confined in a house for days by two men, unable to leave.
Deputies traced the call to a crowded neighborhood and began scanning for unusual activity. They soon spotted two men behaving suspiciously outside a residence on the 1400 block of Lake Ave. Officers noted the home was being used as a brothel and was linked to a larger trafficking operation. A third unidentified man initially complied with police orders but suddenly took off running and vanished. Inside, authorities spotted a woman and entered the house, rescuing two victims and arresting the Zunigalatin brothers.
The investigation revealed that both women had been deceived with false job offers. The first victim told police she was approached by the brothers at Miami International Airport and offered a job making scam calls for $200 a day. However, after arriving at the Lake Worth Beach house, she was locked in a room and not allowed to leave. When she asked to go, she was warned she “would be hunted down and hurt,” which she understood to mean killed.
The second victim had been promised work cleaning houses in West Palm Beach. Instead, on what should have been her first day, she was driven to the brothel and told she would be working in prostitution. She recalled hearing a heated argument outside her room, during which one of the suspects threatened another victim, saying, “I will fill you with bullets.” The terrifying ordeal highlighted the dangerous reality of human trafficking.
Both suspects are being held without bond, and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has placed detainers on them. Investigators are now looking into whether this case is part of a larger trafficking ring. The shocking details serve as a grim reminder of the brutal tactics traffickers use to trap victims and the urgent need to combat such crimes.