Mexican and Guatemalan security forces carried out a joint operation along their shared border, attempting to prevent the leaders of the Lev Tahor cult from escaping.
The operation follows concerns that the leaders would attempt to smuggle additional children out, after around 200 cult members were rescued in a recent police operation.
Mexico's Foreign Ministry placed special forces along the border, especially around the Chiapas area, where the cult had formerly been located.
"They will try to hide among the thousands of immigrants crossing the border every day," the Guatemala government warned.
The concern is based in the cult's long history: Since its founding in Israel in 1988, the cult's members have moved between countries, leaving behind testimonies of forced child marriages and systematic abuse.
In September 2022, Mexican police raided a local immigration facility near the border with Guatemala on Friday and arrested 17 members of the "Lev Tahor" sect.
During the raid, 26 cult members were found in the compound. Two of them, a Canadian citizen and an Israeli citizen, were arrested on suspicion of human trafficking and serious sexual offenses punishable by about 20 years in prison.