Interpol’s Operation Eclipse, conducted between February 2025 and January, focused on dismantling networks linked to producing and distributing child sexual abuse material, with the primary goal of identifying victims and reopening cases that had remained unsolved for years. File Photo by Wallace Woon/EPA
March 5 (UPI) — An international police operation coordinated by Interpol led to 60 suspects accused of sexual crimes against minors arrested and 65 child victims rescued after a yearlong investigation in nine Central American, North American and Caribbean countries, the agency said.
Operation Eclipse, conducted between February 2025 and January, focused on dismantling networks linked to producing and distributing child sexual abuse material, with the primary goal of identifying victims and reopening cases that had remained unsolved for years.
Most of the victims were between 5 and 13 years old, and about 80% were girls, Interpol said.
“Investigating old cases not only serves to deliver justice and protect victims, but also to prevent further harm,” said Cyril Gout, acting executive director of Police Services at Interpol.
“Operation Eclipse demonstrates that, thanks to international cooperation and specialized expertise, it is possible to uncover abuse committed even years ago and bring those responsible to justice.”
The countries that participated in the operation were Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic.
Some victims had appeared for more than a decade in international archives that collect child sexual exploitation material without having been identified.
Investigators said the alleged perpetrators had different levels of relationship with the victims, including relatives, friends, neighbors, educators, online predators and foreign tourists, showing that sexual offenders do not fit a single profile.
The operation received support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Child Rescue Coalition. Police and judicial authorities across the region synchronized investigations, conducted targeted interventions and gathered evidence in multiple countries.
Interpol said it provided technical support, real-time information sharing and strategic guidance.
One of the most notable cases occurred in Panama, where authorities resolved an investigation in which a victim had remained unidentified for more than 10 years in Interpol’s international database. The identification, the agency said, allowed investigators to gather key evidence for the judicial process and also led to the location of another victim.
Interpol also maintains the International Child Sexual Exploitation Database, which is used by investigators in more than 70 countries to analyze and compare images and videos of child abuse.
The system allows authorities to establish connections between victims, offenders and locations through digital analysis software, helping identify related cases across different countries and preventing duplicate investigations.
According to the organization, the database contains 4.9 million images and videos and has helped identify more than 42,300 victims worldwide.
A joint study by Interpol and global network ECPAT International also found that more than 60% of the unidentified victims in that material are prepubescent minors, including babies and young children, while 65% are girls and 92% of the visible offenders are men.
Interpol provided several cases of the background of victims.
In the Dominican Republic, two minors ages 10 and 13 were allegedly abused by their mother and a transnational sexual offender who lived with them. Both suspects were arrested during the operation.
In Costa Rica, one of the suspects initially posed as an online celebrity to contact his victim. He later used child-grooming tactics, sextortion and threats against the victim’s family to maintain control over her.
A bilateral meeting between Panama and the Dominican Republic led to identifying two suspects wanted by Panamanian authorities for sexual crimes. Both were located in Dominican territory, leading to the start of extradition procedures.
As part of the operation, participating countries also reviewed 57 existing international notices related to individuals believed to live within their borders. These included Red Notices, issued for suspects wanted internationally, and Blue Notices, intended to gather additional information about a person’s identity or location during an investigation.
So far, 12 of those people have been located and detained, while efforts continue to locate and extradite other suspects, Interpol said.
Authorities also said that 45 suspected child sex offenders remain wanted in the countries that participated in the operation.