Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP)

Promoting justice by prosecuting human rights violators and other international criminals

The Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) primarily investigates and prosecutes cases against human rights violators and other international criminals. HRSP investigates and prosecutes human rights violators for genocide, torture, war crimes, recruitment or use of child soldiers, female genital mutilation, and for immigration and naturalization fraud arising out of efforts to hide their involvement in such crimes. As part of this effort, the office is home to the War Crimes Accountability Team, created by the Attorney General in June 2022 to centralize and strengthen  the Justice Department’s Ukraine accountability efforts in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. HRSP also prosecutes perpetrators of other international violent crimes, particularly those involving the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) or occurring within the Special Maritime & Territorial Jurisdiction of the United States (SMTJ). Finally, HRSP prosecutes members of international criminal networks who seek to evade our immigration laws, such as by smuggling persons into the United States, in part by helping lead Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the DOJ/DHS human smuggling task force created by the Attorney General in 2021 to address the most pernicious smuggling networks in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico that impact the Southwest Border. In addition to its prosecutorial activities, HRSP is actively engaged in policy work, both domestically and internationally.

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HRSP News 

Man Convicted of Torture and Exporting Weapons Parts and Related Services to Iraq

May 22, 2023

A federal jury convicted a Pennsylvania man on May 19 for numerous crimes, including the torture of an Estonian citizen in 2015 in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, in connection with the operation of an illegal weapons manufacturing plant in Kurdistan.

Justice Department Hosts Ukrainian Prosecutors for Training on Investigating and Prosecuting Environmental Crimes

May 19, 2023

This week, the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division’s (ENRD) Environmental Crimes Section hosted eight guests from the Ukraine Prosecutor General’s Office for a series of training and study sessions relating to the investigation and prosecution of environmental crimes, including environmental crimes committed in the wake of Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine.

Foreign National Pleads Guilty to Role in International Human Smuggling and Cocaine Distribution Scheme

May 19, 2023

Honduran national pleaded guilty yesterday to his role in a scheme to illegally bring Honduran nationals to, and to distribute cocaine in, the United States.

Foreign National Charged with Immigration Fraud and Human Smuggling Conspiracy

May 8, 2023

An indictment was unsealed today charging an Iranian national with leading a visa fraud scheme to facilitate the illegal entry of individuals from Iran into the United States.

Foreign National Extradited to the United States for Kidnapping and Assaulting U.S. Army Soldiers in Colombia

May 5, 2023

A Colombian national has been extradited from Colombia to the United States to face charges related to kidnapping and assaulting two U.S. Army soldiers who were on temporary duty in Bogota, Colombia.

Foot Guide Charged with Sexual Abuse of 17-Year-Old Girl

April 6, 2023

SAN DIEGO – Cecilio Jimenez-Bautista of Mexico appeared in federal court today to face charges that he sexually abused a 17-year-old unaccompanied minor who he and his brother guided from Tijuana, Mexico into the United States in June 2022.

Foreign National Pleads Guilty to Role in International Human Smuggling and Cocaine Distribution Scheme

March 30, 2023

A Honduran national pleaded guilty today to his role in a scheme to illegally bring Honduran nationals to, and to distribute cocaine in, the United States.

Two Co-Conspirators Indicted for Role in Prolific, Global Human Smuggling Conspiracy

March 22, 2023

Arrest is the Result of Bilateral U.S.-Mexico Law Enforcement Cooperation Coordinated through Joint Task Force Alpha and the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force

Justice Department Announces Historic Guatemalan Human Smuggling Extraditions at Joint Task Force Alpha Summit

March 16, 2023

The U.S. Department of Justice yesterday announced the first ever extraditions from Guatemala to the United States on charges of human smuggling resulting in death, and the first Guatemalan human smuggling extraditions to the United States of any kind in nearly five years.

Readout of Joint Task Force Alpha Summit on Anti-Human Smuggling and Trafficking Efforts

March 16, 2023

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division yesterday convened a meeting of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) in El Paso, Texas, to bring together law enforcement leaders to discuss dismantling human smuggling and trafficking networks operating along the Southwest Border.

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