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Busts texas had ever seen. federal authorities targeted cantinas run by organized crime figures, the brothers victor and oscar. over 100 women were freed from houston cantinas in the raids. one of them was maria, a single mother who left a successful bakery business in el salvador, hoping to make more money to support her family. >> translator: he took me over to some clients who were drinking and said, look, fresh meat from el salvador. he pushed me between the legs of the men and told them, he...

Business of sex slavery? in 2005, tabc participated in one of the biggest sex slavery busts texas had ever seen. federal authorities targeted cantinas run by organized crime figures, the brothers victor and oscar. over 100 women were freed from houston cantinas in the raids. one of them was maria, a single mother who left a successful bakery business in el salvador, hoping to make more money to support her family. >> translator: he took me over to some clients who were drinking and said, look, f...

Really. look. >> fighting traffickers in houston is an uphill battle for both federal and state agencies who run joint sting operations with a common goal -- gather intel on the criminals profiting from the exploitation of women and shut them down. >> houston is a hub. >> youre under arrest for prostitution. do you understand what im saying? >> you know, you have everything from the illegals being forced into it and our u.s. citizens being forced into it. >> go in that room right there. >> from ...

The number of tricks they can perform on a daily basis, putting the money earned into the pockets of those who are exploiting them. thats human trafficking. >> during her six years in captivity in mexico, wendy worked with schoolgirls from el salvador, guatemala and honduras. >> translator: almost all of them were 14, 15, 16 years old. all of them told me the same thing, that they had been tricked. >> wendy says that the traffickers ruled by daily beatings and terror, running was not an option. ...

>> i mean, nobody comes to do their business. >> right. >> everybody is talking the same way. >> theyre all babysitters. >> after talking to a half dozen girls, jose finally contacts one who admits to having sex for money. margarita is surprisingly up front about her situation. >> she say, yes, she come here and she drinking and sometimes she go out with the men and they pay her $50. >> unfortunately, margarita is not quite ready to change her life today. and all that geffen can do is offer her ...

Really. look. >> fighting traffickers in houston is an uphill battle for both federal and state agencies who run joint sting operations with a common goal -- gather intel on the criminals profiting from the exploitation of women and shut them down. >> houston is a b. >> youre under arrest for prostitution. do you understand what im saying? >> you know, you have everything from the illegals being forced into it and our u.s. citizens being forced into it. >> go in that room right there. >> from fo...

>> most of the girls will deny any involvement in prostitution. >> i mean, nobody comes to do their business. >> right. >> everybody is talking the same way. >> theyre all babysitters. >> after talking to a half dozen girls, jose finally contacts one who admits to having sex for money. margarita is surprisingly up front about her situation. >> she say, yes, she come here and she drinking and sometimes she go out with the men and they pay her $50. >> unfortunately, margarita is not quite ready to...

Theres another lady back there or a guy that will take your money for you. $50 was for the sex act and $2 and some change was for a condom, some spermicide lubricant and couple of paper towels to wipe up with, i guess. thats how disgusting it was. >> they want a price. here in houston. >> advocate jose says every day for the last six years trafficked women and young children come desperately seeking help after being horribly exploited. >> theyre sleeping all day and working in the night. and the...

To this day, i remember it was a saturday at 3:00. she left and never came back. >> for anas father, its been six long years of heartbreak. his headstrong 14-year-old daughter with big dreams has never been seen or heard from since that fateful day. >> translator: she told us, papa, mama, im leaving. i want to go. just give me your blessing rather than trying to stop me. if i make it, ill help you. have faith. >> federal prosecutor ed gallagher says a single woman can bring in thousands of dolla...

Strangers, one needs only to consider the extreme poverty of this village. most families like wendys live in one-room shacks with no plumbing or running water. wendys mother andrea, like most in her remote village, labors on a pineapple plantation owned by a u.s. company. her daily take for a 12-hour shift, about $5 a day. >> translator: here is a photo of my daughter wendy when she was just 14 years old. >> translator: my mom always said she would never be late to work if she could only buy a c...