A senior member of the Lev Tahor cult has been extradited to Mexico on suspicion of human trafficking.
Yoel Alter is accused of removing children from their communities and organizing forced marriages between minors and adults within the cult. Authorities said the investigation identified the Mexican state of Chiapas as a central area of the group’s activities.
After the dismantling of the cult and failed attempts to reestablish it, Guatemalan authorities extradited a man identified as one of Lev Tahor’s leaders, a dual Israeli and Romanian citizen, to Mexico. He now faces trial on charges related to organized crime and human trafficking, including allegations of forced marriages involving minors.
Mexican officials said Alter was transferred into Mexican custody and brought before a federal judge in the southern state of Chiapas. The judge ordered him held in detention pending a review of his legal status.
According to Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office, Alter is accused of participating in a criminal organization that removed children from their families and arranged forced marriages between minors and adults within the cult. Investigators said Chiapas was identified as a key hub of the organization’s operations.
