More than 15 teens and young women freed in a complex Latin American trafficking scheme

The perpetrators running this human trafficking operation functioned under the front of a bar, and they had the sick insight to know exactly who to exploit: adolescents who were already vulnerable.

The traffickers published social media ads and posts in groups specifically targeting young women who were financially struggling or otherwise vulnerable. Once they’d ensnared a teenage girl’s attention and desperate hope for income, they’d offer a job. But when each girl arrived at the bar for work, she was assaulted by the head of the trafficking ring and then forced to be exploited by a steady stream of paying customers.

Many of these girls were as young as 16. All of them were forced to stay on the bar’s premises, threatened, drugged, and abused into silent compliance. They must have felt terrified and alone.

But law enforcement and The Exodus Road’s teams were working fervently to free them.

Our global investigative teams specialize in analyzing complex evidence, including digital footprints and online activity. (Image representative)

Our global investigative teams specialize in analyzing complex evidence, including digital footprints and online activity. We were able to track down the trafficking operation and support law enforcement as they entered the building. More than 15 girls and young women, most of them minors, were set free and transferred into government services. The ringleaders of the network were arrested.

Law enforcement and The Exodus Road still have unanswered questions: more of the network might still be out there. If so, we will not stop carefully, intentionally gathering evidence until they are found.

*Images representative