The Lev Tahor Jewish sect was in the crosshairs of Guatemalan authorities due to allegations of child abuse, forced marriages and teenage pregnancies.

Guatemalan authorities on Friday rescued 160 children from a farm belonging to the Lev Tahor sect, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish group under investigation for alleged sexual abuse of minors , the Interior Minister and the Attorney General's Office reported.

"The operation led to the rescue of 160 minors who were allegedly being abused by a member of the Lev Tahor sect," wrote Minister Francisco Jiménez on the social network X after a raid on the property located in the municipality of Oratorio, about 60 km southwest of the capital, where the sect settled in 2016.

Prosecutor Dimas Jiménez said at a press conference that the raid was carried out due to "suspicion" of human trafficking crimes "in the form of forced pregnancy, child abuse and rape ."

The alleged remains of a minor were found during the raid , the prosecutor's office added.

" Zero tolerance for child abuse! " said the minister, who said they had the support of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The Jewish sect Lev Tahor was in the crosshairs of Guatemalan authorities due to allegations of child abuse, forced marriages and teenage pregnancies .

In October, authorities carried out a raid to check on the minors after a failed attempt in August, but the sect leaders again prevented them from talking to them.

The sect, which has described investigations as "religious persecution" , settled in Oratorio in 2016 after being expelled from an indigenous Mayan village in 2014 due to conflicts with locals and spending time in a building in the Guatemalan capital.