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INTERPOL’s International Effort Confluencia led to 95 arrests across a coordinated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) investigation covering 17 countries. Conducted from March through September 2026, the action included 127 search warrants, the rescue of a five-year-old child, and seizures expected to identify more suspects and children needing protection.
What is International Effort Confluencia?
International Effort Confluencia is the name INTERPOL gave to four parallel operations against the production, distribution and commercial sale of CSAM through messaging applications and cryptocurrency channels. Police activity ran from March to September 2026, with INTERPOL coordinating information and cross-border support.
The operation targeted activity at several stages of the abuse economy: grooming children, arranging or producing abuse, distributing files, taking payments and recirculating material. Because the same files and suspects can move between countries quickly, investigators treated the cases as one connected international effort rather than isolated national investigations.
What the crackdown produced
| Measure | Result reported by INTERPOL |
|---|---|
| Coordinated operations | Four, conducted from March through September 2026 |
| Countries involved | 17, according to INTERPOL |
| Arrests | 95 suspects |
| Search warrants | 127 |
| Child rescued | One five-year-old child |
| Evidence outlook | Seized devices and files are expected to support further offender and child-at-risk identifications |
Those arrested are suspects, not convicted offenders. Their cases will proceed under the laws and courts of the countries where investigations and arrests took place.
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Which countries took part?
INTERPOL described the action as involving 17 countries. Its announcement named Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain and Uruguay. That published list contains 16 country names, so the agency’s 17-country total and the names released publicly should not be treated as an identical list until INTERPOL provides clarification.
The geographic spread covers much of Latin America as well as Italy and Spain. Investigators in each jurisdiction handled local searches, arrests and victim-protection measures while sharing intelligence through the coordinated operation.
What investigators found in national cases
Ecuador: a 15GB cache
Ecuadorian investigators reported finding more than 4,000 files and approximately 15GB of abuse images on a suspect’s devices. Digital evidence of that scale can help investigators map file-sharing contacts, identify accounts and establish whether children shown in the material remain at risk. The figures are allegations and seizure results reported by INTERPOL, not a court finding of guilt.
Panama: a group with more than 700 users
Panamanian police arrested the administrator of a group that had more than 700 users. An administrator can provide investigators with account records, payment information and communications that may connect participants across borders. The existence of a large membership does not by itself establish that every user committed the same offense; each person’s conduct must be assessed separately.
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Argentina: alleged sextortion of minors
Argentine police reported that one suspect had allegedly been in contact with more than 260 girls worldwide. Investigators said the suspect allegedly threatened victims who resisted increasingly explicit demands and faces accusations of sextortion involving minors. These are reported allegations, and the individuals involved retain due-process rights while proceedings continue.
How messaging platforms were used
INTERPOL said messaging services have become important infrastructure for offenders because they can combine private contact, group distribution and rapid communication. According to the agency, offenders used platforms to:
- groom children and build trust before abuse or coercion;
- coordinate the production and exchange of abuse material;
- connect buyers, sellers and other participants;
- receive or arrange payments, including through cryptocurrency channels; and
- recirculate files after the original abuse, causing continuing harm to the children depicted.
Recirculation means a child can be revictimized whenever an image is downloaded, traded or reposted. INTERPOL Executive Director Investigation Support Stephen Fry said the operations showed “the growing role of digital platforms in the monetization of child sexual abuse” and that cooperation between police and private companies has become more urgent.
What happens after the 95 arrests?
Forensic examination and intelligence development
Investigators will examine seized phones, computers, storage media, accounts and transaction records. INTERPOL said the material is expected to support additional identification of offenders and children at risk. That work can produce new leads even when an initial suspect has already been arrested, because devices may reveal contacts in other jurisdictions or previously unknown victims.
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Victim identification and safeguarding
Specialist teams compare seized files with known child-protection databases and investigate whether children can be identified and protected. The rescued five-year-old child demonstrates that an operation focused on online activity can also result in immediate physical safeguarding. Further protective action may involve child-protection agencies, medical services and prosecutors in the relevant country.
Cross-border prosecutions
Evidence gathered in one country may concern conduct, victims or other suspects elsewhere. Police and prosecutors therefore need lawful evidence-sharing, translations, digital-forensics reports and coordinated decisions about jurisdiction. Arrests are an enforcement step, not the end of the case; charges, trials and sentencing depend on national procedures and admissible evidence.
Why the operation matters
Confluencia shows the practical reason international coordination is necessary in CSAM cases. A group can be administered in one country, populated by users in several others, and funded through payment channels that cross additional borders. Messaging services can also allow material to be copied and redistributed almost instantly.
INTERPOL’s stated priority is to move faster than offenders who change platforms or jurisdictions. The agency’s warning is also victim-centered: every subsequent circulation of an abuse file prolongs the harm to the child shown in it. Cooperation between police, platforms and child-protection specialists is intended to interrupt that cycle, identify victims and bring responsible suspects before the appropriate courts.
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