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It’s a problem in America that is IN America.  A lot of times we like to remove ourselves
from the reality of this issue, but it’s truly a problem that pollutes our
doorstep in the illusioned “Eden” of the world. 

Human Trafficking.

I just read an article this morning on MSNBC.  It’s a story of one of the largest
prostitution rings in the country being shut down.

By Alex Johnson and Cesar Rodriguez

Reporters
msnbc.com and Telemundo
updated 7:07 a.m. CT, Mon., Dec. 22,
2008
 

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When FBI and immigration agents
arrested a 28-year-old Guatemalan woman three months ago in Los Angeles, they
announced that they had shut down one of the most elaborate sex trafficking
rings in the country. It was also the family business.

The woman, Maribel Rodriguez
Vasquez, was the sixth member of her family to be rounded up in the two-year
multi-agency investigation. Vasquez, five of her relatives and three other
Guatemalan nationals were charged with 50 counts, alleging that they lured at
least a dozen young women – including five minors as young as 13 years old – to
the United States with promises of good jobs, only to put them to work as
prostitutes. All remain in custody as investigators attempt to unravel the
complex case.

Vasquez – quickly dubbed the “L.A.
Madam” – attracted attention because she had been featured on the
fugitive-hunting television program “America’s Most Wanted.” But it was one of
only a few such cases to be spotlighted by national media, contributing to the
false impression that cases of immigrant sex trafficking are isolated
incidents, law enforcement officials and advocates for immigrants say.

The reality is that human trafficking goes on in nearly
every American city and town, said Lisette Arsuaga, director of development for
the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, a human rights organization
in Los Angeles.

“Human trafficking is well
hidden,” Arsuaga said. “I consider it a huge problem.”

Read the rest here…