FBI Intercepts Lev Tahor Families Fleeing to Guatemala, Days After Deportation from Colombia

Just two days after being deported from Colombia and returned to the United States, members of the cultish Lev Tahor sect attempted to flee the country once again, leading to an interception by federal agents at the airport on Thursday.

According to reports, four adults and five children, comprising two families, managed to clear both immigration and airport security checkpoints. The group had reportedly changed into “standard Chassidic clothing” in an effort to conceal their identities. However, minutes before they could board a flight bound for Guatemala, they were intercepted and stopped by undercover FBI agents.

The attempted escape on Thursday came on the heels of a major operation in South America. On Tuesday, it was confirmed that Colombian immigration officials had deported nine adults and seventeen minors linked to the group the previous day.

The deportees were placed on a flight to New York under heavy police escort.

Colombian authorities took action after discovering the group at a hotel in Yarumal, in the Norte de Antioquia region. Intelligence indicated they were planning to move to a remote location.

“Their intention was to disappear into private land, and this raised serious concerns,” a security source said regarding the operation.
Citing these plans, immigration officials designated the group a “threat to national security” and raised alarms regarding potential violations of children’s rights. The operation was executed in coordination with a regional child-protection unit.

Paula Salazar, director of the regional immigration authority, addressed the government’s stance on the expulsion.
“Colombia has implemented an administrative deportation of the nine adults due to concerns about national security,” Salazar said. “The minors remained in custody on the flight until their full transfer to US authorities.”

Upon arrival in the United States, several of the minors were taken into the care of US Child Protective Services. Authorities disclosed that five of the children, holding citizenship from Canada, the United States, and Guatemala, were listed under Interpol Yellow Notices due to fears of human trafficking, kidnapping, or exploitation.

The deportation operation was carried out one week after officials rescued seventeen minors from remnants of the group in Colombia on November 23.

According to local authorities, families linked to Lev Tahor have been attempting to regroup in Colombia following the collapse of their previous base of operations in Guatemala, though recent efforts have been detected and dismantled by law enforcement.