A Wyoming man has made it his life's mission to help rescue girls in Colombia who have fallen victim to sex trafficking.
Tyler Schwab was first introduced to sex trafficking while on a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Dominican Republic.
He started to notice a lot of young girls with older men but didn't think much of it until he took a human trafficking seminar at Utah State University.
'It was an injustice I couldn't ignore,' Schwab told Cowboy State Daily.
In 2014 he started the non-profit Libertas International, which has gone on to save more than 3,000 girls from tourist pedophiles in Colombia.
In 2014 Tyler Schwab launched the non-profit Libertas International, which has gone on to save more than 3,000 girls from tourist pedophiles in Colombia
'There were kids, especially young girls reporting that they had been abused by American tourists,' Schwab said. (pictured: him hugging a young girl that he helped save)
'Colombia is a very beautiful country for tourists, but over the span of time, we've had an influx of sex tourism, especially after the pandemic,' Schwab said.
'There were kids, especially young girls reporting that they had been abused by American tourists.'
Maj. Johan Aldana from the Colombian National Police, told Cowboy State Daily that sex tourism has been on the rise in cities like Medellin, Cali, Cartagena and the county's capital, Bogotá.
In 2023, there were 1,259 possible sexual exploitation cases of minors in Bogotá, Colombia, 60 percent higher than the previous year, the Associated Press reported.
Around 1.4million tourists visited the country last year as crime and violence has dropped down following the leadership of the notorious Pablo Escobar.
Many of those tourists were Americans, and though Escobar has been dead for more than three decades, the prostitution culture that he normalized has lingered in the country.
In January, a 19-month-old girl was rescued by Schwab and his team after former NYPD officer, Agmad Beharry, 46, sexually exploited her.
The little girl is the youngest survivor that the non-profit has saved.
'We are committed to supporting this survivor as she grows, learns to speak, etc,' Libertas International said in a Facebook post.
Beharry was also charged, along with his accomplice, Gisainet Cristina Chirinos Viloria, with sexually exploiting photographs of a nine-year-old girl, the US Attorney's Office said.
Following his arrest, Beharry, who was assigned to the NYPD's terrorism unit, was suspended without pay and was charged in the US attorney’s office in Manhattan with one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child pornography.
On April 3, Federico Gutiérrez, the Mayor of Medellín, implemented a temporary prostitution ban after an American man was found with two Colombian teens, ages 12 and 13.
The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, has also been involved in trying to decrease prostitution in the country.
In January, a 19-month-old girl was rescued by Schwab and his team after former NYPD officer, Agmad Beharry, 46, sexually exploited her
Following his arrest, Beharry, who was assigned to the NYPD's terrorism unit, was suspended without pay and was charged in the US attorney’s office in Manhattan with one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child pornography
Last year, Operation Archangel was launched, as Liberates International, Colombian law enforcement and the US Department of Homeland Security worked together to bring down more American sex tourists. (pictured: Schwab with another young survivor)
One girl, who goes by the name Milagros, was recently caught up in a sex trafficking string, and through the help of Schwab and his non-profit, she was able to get the help she needed.
A police officer gave her Schwab's information on a written note after she and three other women were violently abused by an American man.
With his support, Milagros testified at her abuser's trial in US Federal court in May 2023.
She is now in school studying to be a social worker and runs a small business from home. She dreams of working for the non-profit one day.
Michael Roberts, 41, a Texas teacher who worked at an all-girls school, was then charged with illicit sexual abuse of minors and was sentenced to seven years in US federal prison.
Last year, Operation Archangel was launched, as Liberates International, Colombian law enforcement and the US Department of Homeland Security worked together to bring down more American sex tourists.
Since the operation started, more than a dozen men have been arrested and there are 30 open cases still pending.
Just last week, a pharmacist from Miami was arrested at an airport as he tried to board a flight to Bogotá to have sex with minors, aged 10 and 12.
In exchange for $300,000 in Colombian pesos, around $77 American dollars, the man abused children and promised them iPhones if they 'didn't cry.'
Another predator, MMA fighter Jaymes Schulte, was also caught and indicted in November on suspicion of sex trafficking and distributing illegal videos that involved victims as young as 13.
To make matters worse, a lot of the girls are being exploited by family members in exchange for money, Aldana said.
'From a professional standpoint, I’ve worked organized crime and drugs, but sexual exploitation is such a different animal because they're real people,' he said.
'They're girls that have had these horrific lives and they're blameless victims who are being exploited.'
Schwab said that once a girl is rescued, they receive ongoing help and care from Libertas International
In addition to Schwab, Libertas International has a huge team that help to save and support the young victims. Angie (left) and Deisi (right) are members of the non-profit's 'Survivor Board'
He and Schwab both agreed that a lot of the offenders are white-collar professionals with no criminal records.
'They come out here with their money and their white skin and believe that they can find the most vulnerable girls in the country and use them as sexual object,' Aldana said.
Schwab referred to the tourists as 'hidden monsters.'
'Many of these people are professional law enforcement, teachers, taxi drivers, pharmacists, ex-military, bankers, etc. They have no criminal background here in the U.S., but when they travel, they turn into the worst kind of monsters who inflict true horror on vulnerable kids around the world,' Schwab said.
Despite the alarming amount of sex trafficking, both Schwab and Aldana are confident that their work will continue to make a difference.
'We will find you. It’s only a matter of time, and now, we have strategic partners in place,' Aldana said.
In addition to them, Libertas International has a large team of people who help rescue helpless girls, including a 'Survivor Board.'
Schwab said that once a girl is rescued, they receive ongoing help and care from Libertas International.
He was recently awarded the prestigious 'Shield of DIPRO,' the highest honor an American can receive, by the Colombian government for his tremendous work.