American Thought Leaders - How Cartels Force Children Into Prostitution, Drug Dealing and Even Killing | Rosi Orozco

Episode Date: May 22, 2026

Rosi Orozco is one of the world’s leading voices against human trafficking. She has been working in human rights advocacy for over three decades, and as a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico, she was the driving legislative force behind Mexico’s famous anti-trafficking law.“There are 50 million people in the world in slavery,” Orozco tells me. And that, she believes, is a low estimate.She was recently involved in helping three rescued girls, who are now at secure shelter in Mexico. “These three girls were minors, and a cartel was training them to kill, to sell drugs, and to [engage in] prostitution.”What happened to those three minors—only 14, 15, and 17 years old—is fairly typical, she says. They saw an ad on TikTok that promised them “work in the tourism industry, and [promised] very good payment.” When they arrived at the Mexican tourist resort, they were captured.Over the years, Orozco has helped more than 400 rescued people, mostly minors, slowly begin to rebuild their lives. But, she says, “400 is nothing compared with the people that haven’t been rescued.” The rescue is just the beginning of a long journey: “It’s difficult work because these girls were completely broken ... to see a smile on their face was really a big victory.”Many people who rescue trafficked children or work in the security shelters where they are protected often risk their own lives. The theme of Orozco’s 5th International Summit Against Human Trafficking this year is “Heroes Wanted.”Orozco also serves as president of the Houston-based “United Against Human Trafficking” nonprofit and created the Trafficking in Persons hotline in Mexico in 2013, giving citizens a direct channel to report trafficking.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

There is 50 million people in the world in slavery. Only in my country that every day between 20 to 30 children disappear. In this episode, I speak with Rosie Orozco, a leading activist on the front lines of the fight against human trafficking. The founder of Collido, she reveals what's happening across the Americas and the reality facing vulnerable children in Mexico. Somebody that is watching child porn or having sex with children, it really are not only hurting that child, but the whole family is waiting for that child to come back home. Beyond the crisis itself, Orozco shows what it takes to rebuild a life. Through her organization, she helps families search for missing children and gives survivors a way to start again, which she calls a blank page. With these girls find that they can restore their life, they can have a blank page, they can have these pieces together, thanks to God, because there is something very important that is faith.

There are moments of hope, stories of rescue and recovery, but big gaps remain in the fight against human trafficking. In the United States, there is a lack of shelters. There is a need of 100. 130,000 beds. There is less than 3,000 beds in the United States. This is American Thought Leaders, and I'm Janja Kelek. Rosie Orozco, such a pleasure to have you on American Thought Leaders. The honor is for me. Rosie, give me briefly a picture of the reality of human trafficking in America today. Well, this is a multimillionaire dirty money industry.

And of course, this is children mostly that has been trafficked, for example, from my country, Mexico to the United States. And I watched that with the Senators Marsha Blackburn, Cathy Britt, and Cindy Hyde Smith, with Sarah Carter. When they were crossing with coyotes, children without any parents. And the police and the guards and the border patrol couldn't be. do anything because there was no control at all in the borders. We have helped families whose children has disappeared in Mexico. We helped two organizations that the mothers lost their children. One for 17 days and recovered the girl. So she opened an NGO and is helping around 80 families. And the other one, Letimora, whose daughter was burned to dead. And she started an NGO to help

around 50 families now. So when you see the pain of the families who has lost their children and then you see the border that children comes to this country without any control, and now more than 300,000 children are lost in the system. Thanks God for FBI and DHS, and especially Tom Homan, who has been rescuing thousands of children now, they are suffering either forced labor or sexual exploitation, and that's really a nightmare that you cannot imagine. So I understand over 100,000 children have been recovered since the beginning of the actions, I think between DHS and the FBI. Yes, there is a huge effort from the authorities in the United States to recover those children.

And there is a lot of hope in the family. in Mexico that some of these children could come back home. They are expecting the children to come back. And believe me, when I have talked to the mothers whose daughter has disappeared, and they said, I, they say, I sleep without being wanting to sleep, I eat without being hunger, and I live without life because to see the empty chair, to see the empty bed every day and to spend all the money that they had trying to find the girl. There is a family in the north of Mexico who somebody let the telephone for calling me. Somebody led the phone for calling me and she was telling me I don't even have a phone. I had only enough money to print

12 pieces of shit with a picture of my daughter. And I don't have money to travel. I don't have money to call anybody. And my daughter has been a month disappeared. That was in San Luis Potosi. And it was really hard for me just to imagine that you just have the picture of your daughter. And you don't have enough money, not even to print

those pictures and put them everywhere for finding your daughter. So people who takes advantage of the vulnerability of all these poor families are the most disgusting human. I don't know if they are humans, but they are the most disgusting creatures in the world. Because somebody that is watching child porn or watching the violence in the porn or having sex with children, it really are not only hurting that child, but the whole family. is waiting for that child to come back home. Rosie, give me a sense of the scale of this, because it's not like you focus, of course, on Mexico.

I understand there's a lot more trafficking from further south, right, from South America and so forth. But just, and also in the United States, frankly. So give me a sense of the scale that we're talking about here. There is 50 million people in the world in slavery, But those are numbers that also has a lot of people who has never denounce, who are like, I think it's much bigger than that. Because only in my country that every day, between 20 to 30 children disappear, it's too many. Just recently, we're receiving one of the shelters, three girls that were captured by TikTok.

They were offering a job, so they traveled to a very nice resort that, well, for them was very attractive. And these three girls were minors, and this was a cartel who was training them to kill, to sell drugs, and to prostitution. So thank God. They were training them to kill people? To kill people. to train, they were training them to kill, to sell drugs, and to be in prostitution. So the authorities in this state, this state is Quintanaro. They are doing a great job rescuing children that are vulnerable or captured by the

mafias, by the cartels. Let's talk about the specific case because it's relatively new. So there's three girls all captured. Let me, let me, let me, let me. Let me ask you not to put the name of the state because as this is cartel, I can put, there is few shelters in Mexico. So to receive children from a cartel, it's very dangerous for them. The people who works in a shelter, they are risking their lives.

They are putting their lives between the child and the cartel. So these three children were rescued by the authorities. There are few heroes in Mexico. From 32 states, there are few authorities that are doing their job. We have a very good law. We have a law that allows you to do so many work if you have the will. But there are so many that they don't use the law of human trafficking law. They don't use the human trafficking law.

They go by corruption of minors and penalties that are lower and also allows them to be outside of the jail. If you apply the Mexican anti-trafficking law, this is a very strong law and this is a law that does not allow the criminal to be out of jail, so they cannot threat the victims. So in these few states that are doing a good job, the states are state of Mexico, Mexico city, Chiapas, Chihuahua, and Quintanaro, those are the states that are really doing, applying the law. There is few victims that are being rescued from hundreds of thousands of victims that has been disappearing in the last years. And you, of course, played a role in getting that law passed. Just maybe tell me about that, because that put you in danger.

When I learned about human trafficking, I was trained here in Washington, D.C. 2005. We opened the first shelter in Mexico, that is Fundation Camino to Casa. This is the logo for this. And since then, we tried to take these criminals to jail, and we couldn't. So we were all in risk, the children and the people who work in the shelter. And I was invited to be a candidate in a place that it was impossible to win. But all my campaign, instead of spending the money on saying how good I was going to be. I was focusing on prevention on how to protect your children from being abuse or human trafficked. And that allowed me to come to, to win for being a congresswoman. I was a former congresswoman in 2009 and the president of a special commission against human

trafficking for the first time existed that commission. It didn't existed before. I didn't register as member of any party, but I'm very grateful to Pan Party because they allow me to be a candidate as a citizen. And we had a very good conversation with all the parties, all our friends from 500 congresspeople voted that law unanimous. It was such a miracle because not only in the Congress with the Congress people but also in the Senate all the 128 senators voted unanimous to and this is a 126 article law that became a very strong law and also was an inspiration for other countries so I'm very grateful because it was a team effort from this special Commission against human trafficking and in

In 2012, that law became the Mexican anti-trafficking law. Briefly tell me what makes this law different and potent and effective. Well, this law, first of all, focus on the victims. They hurt the survivors in the Congress. We had so many times where survivors explained to the Congress people and to the authorities. And that makes such a difference because normally in other countries, when a survivor arrives with the authorities, they had to prove the means. They have to convince the people. In Mexico, you have around 7,000 prosecutors in the country with no money. So they will not be able to have like the intelligence, the investigation to prove.

So they will always go to the survivor and say, hey, tell me how you were deceived, silly girl. It was the attitude at that time. I was there when I was looking how they were interrogating, revictimizing them. So in the Mexican law, if the survivor cannot. not prove the means. Anyway, the trafficker will go to jail if we can prove that he was earning money from the exploitation of this lady, of this girl. So it's so powerful. But then if the girl comes to a psychologist and becomes or comes to a shelter and she feels protected and she start to prove and talk to the authorities and say how she was vulnerable, how she was with violence,

how they submit her with violence, how they deceive her, then the penalties will go much higher. So anyway, in Mexico, the survivors are more protected than anywhere. Fascinating. Let's go back to these three girls that we talked about earlier. Okay, I just want to sort of give people an idea of how this works. So the TikTok is like an ad on TikTok. They got invited to work or something like this at a specific resort. Like what was the, what were they promised? And then what happened? Yeah, they were promised to work in the industry, in the tourism industry. And they were very good payment. So they were attracted. They were minors. One of them, it's 14 years old.

One is 15 and the other one is 17. And they were captured because, of course, they were vulnerable. Their families were with violence or divorce or abandoned. And right now, that's why the authorities send them to shelters, because they know that the families will not protect them and as they were captured by cartels, it is very easy that they will go against their families or against their lives because they know

so much about the organization in that state. So these girls are now for the first time getting some treatment to be restored because to rescue them is just the beginning. Sure, but let's kind of figure out what happened to them. I want to kind of people to understand how this process works. So the girl gets invited an ad for working at a beautiful resort. There's an attractive payout, right? So she arrives at some office somewhere, right, and she's being recruited. But then what happens?

Well, then they are submitted to violence. They are submitted to threats. So basically these people, they just grab them and put them in, in some sort of prison or like what happened? Houses, houses in a place that is very attractive for tourism because there is tourism that comes to my country, sadly, to buy these girls. They know, they know by the cartels, they have links in other countries. These cartels has international work.

So they know that they can come to countries like Mexico to the areas that are for tourism to buy sex with minors. And that's so sad that there is pedophiles that are doing this in my country. They go with the promise of getting a great job. Instead, they're put into a house under basically can't get out and are compelled forced through violence to prostitute themselves. Yeah.

Yeah, they come to my country and they are submitted by violence and by people who threat them or kill somebody in front of them. So they know that if they try to escape, they will only find that they will be killed. So little by little, they will be submitted. They will be forced to kill somebody. and then you are not anymore feeling you're a human. When they submit somebody as child to kill another human being, they lost their identity, they lost their humanity, and they just are like a robot for them.

That's how they submit so many children. How can you explain that? A child, 17 years old, kill the mayor from Mitrakan, Carlos Manzo was killed by a 17 years boy. Carlos Manzo was killed by a 17 years old boy. How can you explain that? They are captured by criminals. In the Mexican law, we have that penalty as human trafficking.

Because anything that has to do like slavery, because they are slaves from the cartels, they are submitted by the cartels to start killing others. until they don't feel anything by killing a human being. And being so young, they are very vulnerable. And just to be clear, when you say submit, you're talking about people being forced, people being coerced to do things.

Yeah, when you are forced to kill a human being, then it's very easy that you don't feel anything to kill another and another. That's how you find Carlos Manso, the mayor from Michoakhan, killed by a 17 years old boy. So basically, like, they're pulled in, and even they kind of, it's like they become part of the cartel, but they know all the time that if they don't comply,

they're going to get killed or worse. Yeah, they try to survive in the middle of this hell by doing what they ask them to do, what they force them to do. There is, that's normal in a human, human being to try to survive. Of course. So these authorities, who rescued them?

How does that work? Well, there is now investigation in those states. There are agents who are investigating, and they also go to these places as clients, and then they find out that these are minors, that these are forced or coerced to do these things, and they can then rescue them. It must be very difficult to help people that have been through this. Yes, yes.

I learned that since 2005. I was prepared to many things, you know, because people who has been so hurt, so broken, it's very difficult to bring them to be It's the, to rescue them is just the beginning. The restoration is a process that takes so long sometimes. Depending on, you know, children who came from a family that was strong with strong values, love, it's easier to restore them.

But when somebody has come from a broken home with so much violence in their own home, then to come to a shelter, a shelter, it's so difficult. They don't believe in love. They don't, they don't believe that you have a good heart because they have never seen that in their lives. So how do you do it? Well, we call it a blank page. Let me show you. When they arrived to shelters, we give them blank pages and magazines, scissors, and colors, and they sometimes take months, years, to start dreaming again. Because this is the way we want them to rewrite their stories. This is the way that we want them to dream again, to have a new project of life. The project of life is completely destroyed.

All their dreams are forgotten. they think they cannot have a good life they are they feel guilty they feel dirty they feel broken so when they regret their stories there are some book of dreams that are beautiful because again they want to get married they want to study they want to have a family and they want to have like an apartment the day that i saw one of the girls that she said i want an apartment And I was teaching them anything that you dream, you can get it. And I was like, oh my God, am I going to help them? Well, let me tell you, there is two buildings in Mexico of apartments that one of the mayors of Mexico's city gave them.

And, well, they pay, they pay $50 a month, every month, but it's their apartment. So now when they have a partner, when they have a partner, when they have. have a spouse and he's violent or he's saying oh you were you know bad person before you they tried to remember their past they can say I have a blank page I have a new story and you are living in my apartment so you better treat me well because otherwise you go out it's very good for their dignities that they have their own apartments do you tell me a bit about the process, right? I mean, again, I don't know how long ago were the three girls, let's talk about the three girls that, you know, were rescued that are working with your organization

right now. Well, they just arrived. They just arrived three days ago. But I can tell you about Anita. She arrived when she was 16 years old. This was in 2007. And she was an orphan. And she was And she was living with a mother. When she died, she was in the streets and begging for food. At that time, she was 12. Then the step-sister learned that she was by herself, vulnerable, and the step-sister offered her to come and live with her like a family, but she started to exploit her because the step-sister had five children,

and she was in situation of prostitution. So Anita was not studying anymore forced to take care of these five children when she was 13, 14 years old. And then she started to give her three different telephones. And Anita had to answer the calls for the hotline about sex. And she learned how to speak as an Argentinian, as a Spanish, and say, well, I am Argentinian. and with the accent, she will tell these people, I am learning about sex and I want to do a trio with you and things that were gross for a 14-year-old girl.

Then the stepsister sell her virginity for very pennies. And she started to go to the hotels with a stepsister that was in a situation of prostitution. And she was just a child and so vulnerable, crying in those hotels. One day a man came and insulted her. This man was very violent and he wanted sex without protection

and she said no. And he started to shout at her saying if you are learning this work, you have to be good with the clients. And she came out of the room and started to cry. And a man who was working in that hotel whose name is Ivan, saw her crying, being a child. And he came and took her into a room

and said, what's happening with you? She explained that she was forced to be in prostitution by the stepsister. The step-sister was in the room with that man. And he hid her and took her out between sheets and towels in a taxi and took her to the general attorney where she arrived then to our shelters. And that's the way she was saved.

And she was many years with us until now she still, now she's starting marketing. Some of the things that you see in the social media are made by her. And she is one of the speakers in international places. Like she was in Lambert Palace in UK speaking in English. And all the people was crying because she was explaining how the shelter was like a family for her

and what this shelter made for her. So it was such an amazing, beautiful story of she's married. She has her own apartment. She has her own car. She is doing so well. She was just recently in Paris in a very important event with Coalition Against Prostitution. and she's doing, she's one of the main voices. She has been in Vienna in the UN.

She has been representing all the survivors in Mexico in the UN. I'm very proud of her. That's amazing that someone can come, you know, that far. Yeah. And there is another one who arrived at that time that she was only six years old. Her father killed the mother with a machete in Guatemala. and then took her to Cancun to force her to prostitution.

And that girl at the beginning when she arrived to the shelter, she couldn't even speak for two years as she was speaking an indigent language. And then she was so traumatized. She was crying most of the time and the work of the psychologist was so good. And so many people thought, Because the trauma, sometimes when they are so little, your brain gets very damaged. Your neurological system closes and then you cannot learn.

But she just finished her university. She is working in a shelter in the north of Mexico, helping so many children. And she has passion of restoring lives as her life was also restored. That's absolutely incredible. Tell me a little more about what the psychologists do. When you talk to a survivor, most of them say that they feel broken. So there is a very nice therapy that psychologists use, that is a Japanese therapy, that it's a, you know, broken dishes that they apply gold to take these pieces. This is, how do you explain that?

Kinsugi. Kinsugi. And I think that's what you're talking about, right? Kensugi. I mean, it's quite an amazing art form in Japan, right? Where broken pottery is put together using molten gold pieces and it's just it. Yes, this technique that is Japanese brings the pottery together, the pieces that are broken, but they bring them together with gold.

And that's the way they have to feel. those broken pieces in their lives can bring them to the UN to be the voice of all the others because they can now speak about it, they can feel healthy, they can be restored. From brokenness, they become beauty because this is most precious pieces of pottery in the Japanese culture. because gold is in the middle of those pieces. And in this case, also God becomes their strength. I think all these girls find in the fate of God this gold.

When these girls find that they can restore their life, they can have a blank page, they can have these pieces together, thanks to God because God has in these shelters there is something very important that is faith and the girls become whole when they find that God created with a purpose that these people who try to destroy their dignities they just make that these pieces together with gold with God will become the most precious pottery. They are jewels. I think it's a mistake to buy jewelry. I think to invest in lives are the most precious jewelry. That's why I always wear the same.

Just to remember me that precious jewels are lives. To invest in lives is the most precious investment in your whole world, in the whole world. There is nothing better to invest in life. The satisfaction that I have when I go back and see the life that has been restored, I cannot describe it. Because any ring or any jewel will never give me the satisfaction on investing in somebody that is broken and now is the most beauty, pottery with gold, and it's the most beautiful, the...

the most beautiful investment in your life. Tell me a little more about the process, right, for someone that is, again, you know, kind of has suffered unimaginably, right? Well, especially when they arrive from organized crime, we need a high-level security shelter. When they arrive to these places, nobody knows where they are, the people who has come except the Duchess Camilla is the only one we couldn't put them you see this picture it's this little girl who arrived when she was six Camilla came to the shelters and she was the only one who we couldn't put the blind the blindfold we couldn't buy blind for her because the people in the embassy didn't allow us but most

of the people that it has come to a shelter they they don't know where it is so that we can keep high-level security. And then we have psychologists, social workers, very, very intelligent lawyers. We have to have educators, social workers, lawyers, psychologists that will help them from that brokenness to become beautiful. beauty to become this precious pottery who has gold.

And there is a lot of voluntary people that I want to thank because right now, like two days ago, they had the Kinsianera bowl and that was beautiful because four of the girls had three of them were already 18 and one, 15 years old, but they never had a party, a beautiful birthday party. So people who are voluntary and take the time to bring not only money, but time and talent and help them to feel again with the dignity they deserve.

And how does the faith aspect play into this? You say it's an important element. Do they have to be Christian? How does that work? Well, we never force them to anything, but just to be an exact. of love to love God and to love the neighbor. We don't call this any project with religion, but we teach them to love God and the neighbor.

We teach them with principles and values. There is Jewish people who comes and teach them about Passover and about Puri and things are very valuable because Jewish people has the most amazing culture to to prosper somebody, to teach them to be prosperous. And then there is Catholic people who comes and teach them also about the Bible, about God and Christian people also. So we always keep them with faith because faith in Jesus, we really believe Jesus is the one who gave their lives for them, but it's really important for the children because they understand that he

gave their life for them and that they can be restored as he resurrected he has they they can be resurrecting their lives for a better life for a victorious life so yeah we also allow them to choose whatever part they decide because that's why they are free they are free to choose to choose what to where to choose where to go to choose when they want to leave to choose the faith they want, but yes, we keep them believing that there is a new life. Because you mentioned that they're kind of when they arrive, it might be, people might not understand, like, why do they need to not know where they are? Well, because cartels can bring violence to their families, to them, so that's how we

protect, not only where they are living, but also the families where they are living, but also the families where they are and we have the information of them. So we have to keep that very private. Because they might reveal it inadvertently. Yeah, yeah. If people comes and knows where it is, they can reveal to the cartels. So to be protected, they have to have a high level of security. We have to have protection.

We have an armored door. or they are in a very private, they are in a very secure place. I'm just one trying to imagine, but what if they decide to leave? Like, you have these, you must face a ton of challenges, right? Because someone could leave, someone could have a bad day. Someone could, you know, they've been groomed by these cartels. I've covered this and they may want to go back even to the capture sometimes, right? All of this kind of happens.

So you guys are in a difficult, it's just a very difficult place to all. operate. Yes, and especially when they are older, when they get 18, we cannot force them at all. They have freedom. They can choose. We have also a halfway house. So when they get 18, they can choose to go to that house because in that house they can have more freedom.

They can have a cellular, they can go to university, but they will keep being with a psychologists with people who can take care that they are secure, that they are safe. And of course, the traffickers are already in jail. Otherwise, they cannot be there. Wow. This is, I mean, what this is the world you're describing is something that's, I think, very difficult for a lot of us to kind of grasp. Yeah. Yeah. And we want, in this campaign that we are doing, Heroes Wanted, we want to inspire young people to do more because you have to be either crazy or called by God to do this job. It's very difficult to do it.

And I really believe that there is people who is watching this video, who is watching this TV program, and it's called by God. Or enough crazy to say, I want to help these children, I want to do something, I want to invest in the true jewels that exist in the world that are human lives that can be restored from brokenness to beauty. And I think this is very important for all the people that works against trafficking, that more people, young people, gets in the fight, becomes heroes. We are wanting more heroes because there is too many children that needs people who cares, who really, we need more people that does. not turn their faces to the side and decide to go to this fight to help the children.

Here in the United States, there is a need of 130,000 bets, need to have 130,000 beds. And you know there is less than 3,000 bets in the United States. Like to do this kind of work. Yeah. Right. In the United States, there is a lack of shelters. There is a lack of people who decides to help these children or young people and there is a need of 130,000 beds.

There is more than 400,000 churches and there is less than 3,000 beds in the United States. It's so sad. The selfishness, it's so big. And people full of jewelry and watches and things that will not go with you when you die. And, you know, to know in the eternity that you invest in what is eternal, it's so important, it's so valuable. I'm very happy to partner. We're very happy to be partnering with you on this Heroes Wanted project, at least showcasing

some of the actual heroes that kind of you've put together. Tell me a little bit about them. Tell me a little bit about, so we're, for the benefit of our audience, we've interviewed a number of people that your organization has deemed heroes. They already got the mantle, right? And so tell me a little bit about this project and how it works. After 20 years of helping so many children, I learned that there is so many in the world,

that they show in media or in TV, that they rescue children, that they have houses, that they help thousands, And it's not true. They come to our shelters, they take pictures of our children, of our job, and they show that like their job, and they raise millions. And they are false, false prophets, false people. And instead of telling you who are they, I prefer to go in the positive. I have always been like that. I prefer the constructive part. So instead of talking about the bad guys, we have to highlight the heroes. We have to show who are the real ones that are risking their lives.

You're looking for people to support your efforts. Are these efforts also in the United States? Right? So just maybe explain that part. But you're also looking for people to participate, right? This is going to be the fifth year that we have an international summit against human trafficking in the Capitol Hill. Always, Congressman Chris Smith comes and speaks and that we will be able to have these international people. There is two governors from Mexico that promised they were coming because they are doing a good job in their states. And there is also people, senator, congresspeople, mayors, judges,

and people who are business people, but they are investing in the lives of people. And they are coming. Last year we had 188 international heroes. And this year we will invite the heroes, the people who are doing their amazing job, either in NGOs, in the states, because they are closing all the illicit places

where there is human trafficking, or they are rescuing the victims, or they are judging correctly, they are using the law correctly. So we are inviting the people in the world that are doing the real job. Instead of highlighting the bad ones that lies, we are highlighting the true heroes.

Your organizations, you told me a lot about your organizations work in Mexico. That's where it's kind of based, right? What do you do here in the United States? Well, there is an organization that is based in San Diego that helps in the border. That's a very amazing organization with Alma Tucker. So we are helping there.

And also in Virginia, we participate in an organization that is called Unbound, where they are helping people in Virginia, specifically and especially with all the illicit massages that exist sadly in Virginia. You're talking about the illicit massage parlor. So that's something we haven't talked about yet. Explain that to me. When you see these, these are like these spa, massage spa establishment. With Unbound, we help the people to see that these illicit massages, that it's more than 500 illicit massages that exist in Virginia.

Sometimes they are open at two in the morning. Sometimes they have people who just not speak the language. And some of them are doing illicit business. And it's not a stuff in Virginia. I don't know why. Because Alabama, for example, they just close all these places. And I think one way to end human trafficking

is to be sure that we don't have illicit massages in any state of the United States, because there is Asian people. who are being trafficked. How do you know the difference between a legitimate massage parlor and an illicit one? Resented 800, it's

an NGO in Virginia that takes a tour for the people to see how is the difference between a place that is open in the middle of the night and it's like hidden

and they have men who comes and they are also interviewed by this organization, and they try to convince them that they are doing something that is not good because they are paying for sex, and they have a happy ending in those massages that they are illicit. Since we've known each other, you've been in the United States a lot. Why did you end up coming to the United States?

Because doing anti-trafficking law, and applying it and helping so many cases gets you in the problems when the government is not the line on fighting the cartels and fighting the trafficking. So if I am in Mexico, I am in more risk and I can do now more in the international side. I can be more strong and doing more since I am not in risk and I am not threatened here. Were there threats against your life? Yes, of course, of course, since the beginning. It sounds, okay, so it's, of course,

since we opened the commission against trafficking, since we opened the special commission against trafficking in the Congress, of course that didn't like the traffickers at all, the criminals. There is politicians that are involved in the trafficking, of course. So you mean you're in Mexico, whenever you're in Mexico, there is some threat against your life, you peel? Yes, I am also registered in the Secretary of Internal Affairs as one of the activists and journalists that are protected. They have to protect me by law. And so I am in the system as one of the activists.

They have to give me protection every time I go. Wow. So how does that work? Well, I have to register all the threats I have. I still have threats. So I send these threats to the Internal Affairs Secretary in Mexico every time I have them. So they have to register. It's an international system that protects activists. You know that there has been a lot of them killed. But also, it's not only the people. killing what they try to do. What they can do to you is to try to destroy your reputation, because that's another way of killing the activism, and they want to do both things to the people

who fights against them. So I keep myself safe here in every way, and I feel so appreciated by so many authorities here. I think since the beginning when I applied to the, since the beginning, when I applied to the extraordinary Italian visa, I was surprised they gave me immediately my green card. And I was like, wow, because I present all the things that I have done in my life, and I felt so much appreciation in this administration.

Yeah, and I understand that you're also helping the administration to tell the difference between you know, people who are coming here with good intentions and people that are not. Yes. Yes. And people like Tom Homan has always come to the International Summit, Sarah Carter, CPAC people who are a big ally, American First Police Institute, Family Research Council. There are so many people who cares in this country to end human trafficking and especially the epoch times. Tell me about that work that you're doing here with the authorities.

Well, we have the office in the Family Research Council, and we have met so many of the congresspeople and the authorities who really wants to end human trafficking, like Sarah Carter. Sarah Carter, who has been the journalist, now is the drug czar. But she knows she has been in Mexico, she has been in the shelter. has talked to a lot of survivors and she knows how cartel of drugs are very linked to the human trafficking because in Mexico when you have a place that has human trafficking sexual exploitation you try to get as criminals they try to get the police to come so they will come and say to the police hey you are tired we have we can give you some fun come to have to this

bar and we will get you some girls They are new, they come from Europe, they are very pretty, and these people were trained, they want to be honest, they don't want to help the cartels, but they think, oh, this is only to have fun. And I am far from my family, so I go. Then they filmed them, they take pictures of them, they record what they are doing with these girls. And then they get them drunk and they take some of the information.

One day, one of the police who is a friend of mine told me, Rossi, I admire your job and I want to be honest with you. When I was younger in Ciudad Juarez, I took my team to be with these girls. They got us drunk, they got information, I lost people. Now I have a daughter and I understand what you are saying and I feel so ashamed to tell you that I lost people, I lost information because these people are linked to the criminals. And he was telling me this the same as the survivors. The survivors were telling me how they are forced to give them free to the authorities,

to the Congress people, to the police, to the prosecutors. that comes to these places. And they attract them and make them also to be addicted to this illegal sex. And they get them to be with minors and even with babies. And this is gross because then they are perverse and they are controlled by the cartels. This is the best way to contaminate all the good police and to corrupt them. It's the best way they do it. The cartels know that if they have a sandson that wants to be a godly man and wants to be

doing the correct, but they bring a Dalila and they keep them bringing this woman, they will corrupt their soul like that. Even the best police can go corrupted by the trafficking. And Sarah Carter knows this and knows how long. link is the drug cartel to the human trafficking. When I was a congresswoman, I had some friends in the Congress who became governors. And they were very convinced about the law. And three of them closed all the illicit places like strip clubs,

they closed all the illicit places like strip clubs and brought them. They close all the illicit places like strip clubs and brothels. And those are the states that now are less criminality. Like for example, the first one who closed all, Ruben Moreira, he was my friend and him. In the Congress, some of the friends who helped me to succeed in the law became very convinced on what they were doing. So they became governors like Ruben Moreira, whose state was the most criminal one with more

disappearing women, with more cartels and killing people, and it was a disaster, Guaulah. Especially Torreon was one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Ruben Moreira arrived as a governor and closed all the illicit places, all the brothers, all the strip club, the state became one of the most secure ones and one of the most secure cities in Torreur now. Because when you close these places, you don't allow anymore money, laundry, weapons, drugs, and the places where all the more perverse people gets together to make business. So it's very important that governors here in the United States are talking against human trafficking and against the illicit migration. But their states are full of

strip clubs. Even around here in Washington, I mean, there is horrible places where there are illicit business with migration that are not legal, that has ladies that are here illegally, and they are dancing for the politicians. But then, then, having, you know, selling sex and it's gross. It's really bad. Prostitution is not a job. It's the most dangerous situation for a woman. 40% dies in a very violent dead.

So if somebody is so crazy to think that that's a job, it's more dangerous than being in a mine. It must be very difficult for these girls to even try to, you know, make it out of really difficult situations they've been in, I mean, very extreme, extreme situations that they've been in. How often does it work out for them? Well, in the shelters, we have helped. 92% has been successful. Either to go back to their families when there is the possibility, when we help them to their reunity,

reunion. When they help them, when they help them, when they help them, when they help them, and we help them to the reunion, but also some of them, even if they cannot study in a university, we help them to know how to sew or to paint or to sing or to do something that will help them to earn some money. So for us, it's a very long process. The difference is that there are shelters

here in the United States in the United States in many countries that they will just give them a therapy for six months or a year. We have had to help some of the survivors for 17 years. Like Maria, Maria came when she was six years old and couldn't really even talk. But right now that she finished the university, she was not able to find a job

because every time that she was going through that process, The psychologist area understood that there was something that was not normal. So she told me, every time that I go to a job and I go through the human resources, I get like a no, and I don't know why, and I knew. She found herself very useful and prepare and train for helping children that are in shelters. in the north of Mexico. And she's doing a fantastic job and learning how to also

continue in her stories, continue in being wise how to invest the money. These people in this shelter are helping her to go to this other level. And, you know, it's like those dishes, those pottery

that are finding how this gold is going to be used for something they really are passionate to do. She's passionate now to help these children because she was so thankful that people helped her. Sure. And so how many people have you managed to help over the years? More than 400 people. More than 400, mostly minors. That's truly remarkable. It must be, you know, unbelievably rewarding to do this work?

Well, it's a difficult work because these girls were completely broken. Some of them, they didn't want to leave at all. And to see a smile in their face was really a big victory. But some of them now are the ones that are helping others. And that's for me the virtual circle. Because when one of them wants to be an activist and wants to become also the inspiration of the others, that helps the ones that are new. These three girls are getting to know some of the ones that are successful.

So they can see, yeah, well, I feel depressed, I feel confused. But now I can see that she is doing well. And she went to the same process. And now I admire that she travels, that she speaks in English, that she finished a university, that she's married, that she has her own apartment. We just got new apartment for them recently, for the older ones. So that keeps us going in a very successful virtual circle. Well, Rosie Orozco, it's such a pleasure to have had you on. Thank you.

It was such a nice interview. Thank you for caring. Thank you all for joining. joining Rosierrosko and me on this episode of American Thought Leaders. I'm your host, Janja Kellick.