Latin America<\/a>. The following are a few excerpts from an interview we conducted with him while visiting our field office where he works.<\/p>\nMeet Leo<\/h2>\n
Leo* is an undercover operative looking to find and free victims of sex trafficking. Leo, like many of our national operatives, has previous experience in his country\u2019s military. He has a wife and two young daughters.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nWhy did you decide to work with The Exodus Road?<\/h4>\n
\u201cWhen I retired from the military, I learned about the missions and goals of The Exodus Road and I thought of my daughters. I can only imagine what it would be like if this happened to them, and something moved me inside and I said, \u2018Ok, I want to be a part of that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
What does your family think about your job?<\/h4>\n
\u201cMy family is used to me working in dangerous situations because of my previous work with the military. They tell me to be careful but ask me to please go free those kids. They are kind of worried about it, but they support me in what I\u2019m doing. Their support is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n
What do you do to prepare physically, mentally, and emotionally?<\/h4>\n
\u201cI receive training from The Exodus Road, and I focus on the survivors and their rescues. I also receive support from the people at my church who support this work. It\u2019s very good. They give me counseling and encourage me to never give up.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"1-4\"](\"https:\/\/cdn2.hubspot.net\/hubfs\/3827123\/1-4.png\")
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What does a normal day look like for you?<\/h4>\n
“Usually, I\u2019m the guy in the office that plans the operations. I decide what neighborhoods we\u2019ll go into, which places we\u2019ll enter, and then we get the equipment ready. We are focused on the victims, trends that we see with the traffickers, the establishments that allow the trafficking, the spotters, and bouncers. We find that not only the girls give us good information, but also the waiters and bouncers, and sometimes even street vendors. Sometimes we are out until four or five in the morning gathering information. Then the next day we take all we\u2019ve learned and analyze and classify that information.\u201d<\/p>\n
What are your work hours like?<\/h4>\n
\u201cWe usually work during the day and the night. After a long night, we may take a little rest the next morning before we continue working. But sometimes we\u2019ll be back in the office by 8:30 am. It just depends on the places we visit. Some open at 9 am and operate until 9 pm, others open later. So our hours really depend on what project we\u2019re working on. In the office, we classify information, edit, and create reports for the police.\u201d<\/p>\n
What kind of information do you collect?<\/h4>\n
\u201cWe start by trying to find out about the establishment, by talking with people about when they have the most minors. For example, maybe Thursday, Friday, and Saturday a place will be full of minors. We try to gather information about security. Some places have a lot of security and search customers. So we gather information on the establishment before we ever enter, and then we talk with the police to find out what information they need us to collect once we\u2019re inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
How long does it take to gather all the information you need?<\/h4>\n
\u201cEvery place is different. Sometimes it only takes a week, other times it can take a month. It really depends on the area.\u201d<\/p>\n
What keeps you going?<\/h4>\n
\u201cI know that in Latin America there is a lot of child exploitation. Part of it might be due to the fact that there\u2019s a drug culture, some people have a lot of money to exploit the minors, and they\u2019re just used to abusing kids. So I\u2019m inspired to do the best job I can do to help the police — at the end of the day, it\u2019s their job to make the arrests. We cannot do the rescues without them.\u201d<\/p>\n
What is the best part of your job?<\/h4>\n
\u201cThe accomplishment of rescuing these survivors. It\u2019s very important to me because of my daughters\u2026 these minors are sons and daughters.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"4-4\"](\"https:\/\/cdn2.hubspot.net\/hubfs\/3827123\/4-4.png\")
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Can you tell us about the Naranja* neighborhood?<\/h4>\n
\u201cSure. This place was downtown in the city. I found this area by talking with a street walker. I was posing as a John. She asked me what I was looking for? I told her I liked little girls. She asked if I liked some young girls that were over on the corner. That day there were four or five girls, and they were about ten to twelve years old. She said they were working on the street and that there were usually even more on Fridays, between ten and twenty of them. So, we went back on a Friday and saw 18 little girls there, from about ten years old up to sixteen. We have to talk to them like Johns and ask them how much they charge. One girl said they charge about $10 USD. I asked her where they were allowed to go, because prostitution in this area is illegal. She told me that one particular hotel let them bring in customers and would collect $1.50, and then the girls charged $7.\u201d<\/p>\n
Did the girls keep the $7 or does it go to a pimp?<\/h4>\n
\u201cThere was a gang there that always hung around, smoking drugs and drinking and they were always keeping an eye on the girls. Sometimes they leave to get more marijuana and cocaine, but they\u2019d always be back to guard them. I\u2019m sure the girls have to give them some of the money, but I don\u2019t know how much. It was too risky for us to try to speak with the gang.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"3-4\"](\"https:\/\/cdn2.hubspot.net\/hubfs\/3827123\/3-4.png\")
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How do girls this young come to be trafficked on the street?<\/h4>\n
\u201cIt starts with poverty. Most of them come from the poorest neighborhoods in the city. Also, there are some there because they have fled political crises in other countries. These girls as young as ten and eleven will tell us that they left their country about six months ago, or were homeless and living on the streets. The gang will take advantage of them and say \u2018ok, I\u2019ll protect you but you have to work.\u2019 Something like that. And sometimes the girls will have siblings or family with them – they\u2019ll say, \u2018that\u2019s my sister, or my brother. Or my cousin.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Leo](\"https:\/\/cdn2.hubspot.net\/hubfs\/3827123\/Leo%20Blog%20City%20(Darker).png\")
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