Law enforcement agencies in nine countries arrested 60 suspects accused of child sexual offences and identified 65 child victims during a coordinated international operation. Interpol announced the results of Operation Eclipse today. The year-long effort ran from February 2025 through January 2026 and targeted the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material.
The operation brought together police from Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic. Officials placed special emphasis on identifying victims in longstanding cases and reopening cold investigations. Most of the rescued victims were between 5 and 13 years old. About 80 percent were girls. National authorities provided protection and support services to those who remained minors.
Many of the victims had appeared in international databases of child sexual abuse images for more than a decade without being identified. Operation Eclipse changed that for dozens of children. Suspects came from varied backgrounds. Some were family members, friends, neighbors or educators of the victims. Others operated as online predators or foreign travelers.
In Costa Rica, authorities arrested a man who posed as an online celebrity to contact a minor. He then used grooming, sexual blackmail and threats against the victim’s family to keep control. Police in the Dominican Republic arrested a woman accused of abusing her own children and facilitating their exploitation. They also detained a transnational sex offender who lived with the family. The two victims in that case were ages 10 and 13. Investigators seized additional material that pointed to other victims.
In Panama, officers solved a case involving a victim whose images had remained unidentified in Interpol databases for over 10 years. The breakthrough came through specialized victim identification efforts and led to additional evidence and protection measures. The cases illustrate different methods used by offenders to exploit children both in person and online.
Participating countries reviewed 57 existing international notices related to wanted or suspected offenders. Twelve people were located and arrested as a result. Authorities continue efforts to find and extradite the others. Cyril Gout, Interpol’s acting executive director of police services, said pursuing older cases serves justice and victim protection while preventing further harm.
“Operation Eclipse demonstrates that, through international collaboration and specialized expertise, even years-old abuse can be uncovered and those responsible brought to justice, helping to break the cycle of harm,” Gout added. Interpol coordinated the operation with support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Child Rescue Coalition. The effort included intelligence sharing, technical assistance and cross-border evidence collection.
Officials stressed that international cooperation remains essential to dismantle exploitation networks that cross national borders and to locate victims whose cases had gone cold. Work continues in the participating countries to pursue remaining leads and ensure long-term support for the identified children
