© Fox News LatinoIgnacio Gonzalez
Mexico City - Mexican officials broke up a bizarre cult that allegedly ran a sex-slavery ring in which members had sex with the cult leader -- who claimed to be the reincarnation of Christ.
The cult was operating in Nuevo Laredo, across the border from Laredo, Texas, Mexican immigration authorities said Tuesday.
The "Defensores de Cristo" or "Defenders of Christ" allegedly recruited women to have sex with a Spanish man who claimed he was the reincarnation of Christ, according to an official of a victims' advocacy group, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak publicly about the case.
Followers were subjected to forced labor or sexual services, including prostitution, according to the National Immigration Institute that said it filed a complaint more than a year ago about the cult.
Federal police, agents of Mexico's National Immigration Institute and prosecutors raided a house earlier this week and found cult members, including children, living in filthy conditions, according to the institute official.
The agency said in a statement that 14 foreigners were detained in the raid and have been turned over to prosecutors, pending possible charges.
Those detained include six Spaniards, and two people each from Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela. One person from Argentina and one from Ecuador were also detained. Spain's Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed its citizens were among those arrested.
The institute said 10 Mexicans were also found at the house, mainly women, and are presumably among the victims of the cult.
