Latest news with #NationalHumanTraffickingPreventionMonth
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘Shatter the Silence on Trafficking': Local nonprofit holds online silent auction
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Reclaiming Hope, a local nonprofit whose mission is to care for survivors of sex trafficking, is hosting an online silent auction through Friday, Feb. 21 called 'Shatter the Silence on Human Trafficking,' and is hoping the community can help with the cause. The online silent auction, which began on Friday, Feb. 14 goes through Friday, Feb. 21, and allows the community to bid online through this link. Bidding for the silent auction concludes during the nonprofit's Open House and Survivor Art Sale. The Open House and Survivor Art Sale will take place on Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Reclaiming Hope office. According to the event details, the Survivor Art Sale will be cash only. At the end of January and as part of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, FOX21 News teamed up with Reclaiming Hope for a donation drive, where we collected items to help fill the nonprofit's Hope Bags. The Hope Bags are given by Reclaiming Hope to local and national law enforcement and other agency partners to use as they recover victims. 'These Hope Bags are made available free to our partners nationally (yes, we've shipped to all 50 states and three territories),' previously wrote Sues Hess, Executive Director for Reclaiming Hope. To learn more about the organization or to donate, visit Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Yahoo
Jefferson County Sheriff's Office announces local partnership to fight human trafficking in Alabama
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is partnering with the Child Trafficking Solutions Project to combat human trafficking in Alabama. CTSP is a state-wide coalition that works to rescue and restore victims of sex trafficking. They work within local communities to raise awareness and prevent trafficking. 'The training and tools that CTSP offers is really helping my department as we work toprevent human trafficking within Jefferson County, specifically children that are caught inthis vicious crime,' Sheriff Mark Pettway said in a statement. January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. A combination of rural area and a robust interstate system make Alabama a prime location for human traffickers, according to Human Trafficking Front. The National Human Trafficking Hotline reported Alabama ranked 29th in the United States in 2023 for human trafficking cases identified. Sheriff Pettway encourages the public to be aware and follow these tips: Know the signs: Look for signs of physical abuse, unexplained access to cash or expensive items as well as 'attempts to isolate the person from family and friends.' Be cautious: Be aware of people who promise something that seems too good to be true in exchange for sex or work. Use safe online practices: Don't share personal information online, accept requests from strangers or share inappropriate pictures. Report suspicious activity: If you suspect someone is a victim of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Opinion - The tragic reality of Cuba's medical brigades. The US must lead the charge against them.
With Marco Rubio's unanimous confirmation as secretary of State, now is the time to stand up to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel. Rubio has a history of standing up to the Cuban regime while in the Senate, there is no reason he won't continue to do so in his new position. In fact, the Trump administration has already reinstated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. January marks National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and it's important to remember that modern slavery comes in different forms. In 2008, Ramona Matos Rodriguez, a family medicine physician from Cuba, was sent to work in San Agustin, Bolivia, a small town in the Amazons. Her passport was seized by a Cuban security agent at the airport. She was not allowed to possess any other identifying documents, and she and her fellow doctors were forced to fill out paperwork with false statistics about made-up patients or else face retribution from the Cuban regime. Matos was one of thousands of medical personnel trafficked abroad into forced labor — all for the profit of the Cuban regime. Cuba has a long history of sending its armed forces and medical personnel to foreign countries under the guise of 'aid.' Fidel Castro sought to export his brand of revolutionary violence across Latin America — as in the failed 'invasion' of Bolivia by Castro's associate, Che Guevara. Cuba's communist regime also has a long history of sending military advisors and troops to prop up dictators, advance authoritarian parties, and attack democratically elected governments in Angola, Mozambique, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Yemen, Algeria, Syria and elsewhere. The other tragic but less-known human capital export of Cuba is its so-called 'Medical Brigades.' Havana has sent tens of thousands of medical workers around the world since the 1960s, from poverty-stricken African nations to Portugal and Italy. Undoubtedly, in most cases, these medical professionals do provide needed health care in often difficult environments. But the regime's reason for sending them is not really about spreading the 'good news' of communist brotherhood. Rather, it is financial: the Cuban regime makes a major profit from these programs. Cuban medical professionals are lured with promises of travel, independence and excellent pay, but these promises often turn out to be a façade. As reported by the BBC, many of these medical workers are asked to spy on their associates and are exploited while receiving just a fraction of their wages. Numerous workers have reported unsafe conditions, violence and regime officials taking their passports, forcing them to comply if they want to return to Cuba. Combined with meager pay and often explicit threats against them and their families back home, they are isolated and vulnerable. While the Cuban regime may want the world to see its medical brigades as a noble humanitarian effort like the Peace Corps or an organization like Doctors Without Borders, we know that this program is far closer to indentured servitude. That's because while many of these medical professionals may have volunteered, their employers wield an immense amount of power over them during their tenure. Because their pay, passports and medical licenses are often held by the Cuban embassy, they aren't able to travel and are forced to continue working in unsafe conditions. Additionally, these doctors and their families are, in a very real sense, held hostage. Once abroad, they are cowed into silence and bullied by implicit or explicit threats to themselves or their family members back home. This is not humanitarian work or even public diplomacy. These Cuban citizens thought they were going to use their skills to help people and instead, they are surveilled, asked to spy, deprived of their right to travel, and restricted from privately communicating with family. All of this to bring profits and positive publicity to the communist elite back in Cuba. The first duty of any government is to protect its citizens, but Cuba's communist regime violates this obligation every day. Those doctors and nurses have taken an oath to 'do no harm,' and they should not have to fear harm at the hands of their own leaders. A bipartisan resolution introduced in the House last Congress denounces the Cuban regime for profiteering by forcibly sending its medical personnel abroad. This resolution also condemns the Pan American Health Organization and other government officials for their role in facilitating and perpetuating human trafficking and calls on the executive branch to utilize existing visa revocation authorities on the responsible parties. Foreign officials who violate international agreements and traffic human beings must be held accountable for their actions. It is time for nations around the world to tell Cuba that its medical professionals should not be exploited, abused or threatened — and the U.S. should lead the charge. Mark Green represents Tennessee's 7th District. Eric Patterson, Ph.D., is president and CEO of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
29-01-2025
- Health
- The Hill
The tragic reality of Cuba's medical brigades. The US must lead the charge against them.
With Marco Rubio's unanimous confirmation as secretary of State, now is the time to stand up to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel. Rubio has a history of standing up to the Cuban regime while in the Senate, there is no reason he won't continue to do so in his new position. In fact, the Trump administration has already reinstated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. January marks National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and it's important to remember that modern slavery comes in different forms. In 2008, Ramona Matos Rodriguez, a family medicine physician from Cuba, was sent to work in San Agustin, Bolivia, a small town in the Amazons. Her passport was seized by a Cuban security agent at the airport. She was not allowed to possess any other identifying documents, and she and her fellow doctors were forced to fill out paperwork with false statistics about made-up patients or else face retribution from the Cuban regime. Matos was one of thousands of medical personnel trafficked abroad into forced labor — all for the profit of the Cuban regime. Cuba has a long history of sending its armed forces and medical personnel to foreign countries under the guise of 'aid.' Fidel Castro sought to export his brand of revolutionary violence across Latin America — as in the failed 'invasion' of Bolivia by Castro's associate, Che Guevara. Cuba's communist regime also has a long history of sending military advisors and troops to prop up dictators, advance authoritarian parties, and attack democratically elected governments in Angola, Mozambique, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Yemen, Algeria, Syria and elsewhere. The other tragic but less-known human capital export of Cuba is its so-called 'Medical Brigades.' Havana has sent tens of thousands of medical workers around the world since the 1960s, from poverty-stricken African nations to Portugal and Italy. Undoubtedly, in most cases, these medical professionals do provide needed health care in often difficult environments. But the regime's reason for sending them is not really about spreading the 'good news' of communist brotherhood. Rather, it is financial: the Cuban regime makes a major profit from these programs. Cuban medical professionals are lured with promises of travel, independence and excellent pay, but these promises often turn out to be a façade. As reported by the BBC, many of these medical workers are asked to spy on their associates and are exploited while receiving just a fraction of their wages. Numerous workers have reported unsafe conditions, violence and regime officials taking their passports, forcing them to comply if they want to return to Cuba. Combined with meager pay and often explicit threats against them and their families back home, they are isolated and vulnerable. While the Cuban regime may want the world to see its medical brigades as a noble humanitarian effort like the Peace Corps or an organization like Doctors Without Borders, we know that this program is far closer to indentured servitude. That's because while many of these medical professionals may have volunteered, their employers wield an immense amount of power over them during their tenure. Because their pay, passports and medical licenses are often held by the Cuban embassy, they aren't able to travel and are forced to continue working in unsafe conditions. Additionally, these doctors and their families are, in a very real sense, held hostage. Once abroad, they are cowed into silence and bullied by implicit or explicit threats to themselves or their family members back home. This is not humanitarian work or even public diplomacy. These Cuban citizens thought they were going to use their skills to help people and instead, they are surveilled, asked to spy, deprived of their right to travel, and restricted from privately communicating with family. All of this to bring profits and positive publicity to the communist elite back in Cuba. The first duty of any government is to protect its citizens, but Cuba's communist regime violates this obligation every day. Those doctors and nurses have taken an oath to 'do no harm,' and they should not have to fear harm at the hands of their own leaders. A bipartisan resolution introduced in the House last Congress denounces the Cuban regime for profiteering by forcibly sending its medical personnel abroad. This resolution also condemns the Pan American Health Organization and other government officials for their role in facilitating and perpetuating human trafficking and calls on the executive branch to utilize existing visa revocation authorities on the responsible parties. Foreign officials who violate international agreements and traffic human beings must be held accountable for their actions. It is time for nations around the world to tell Cuba that its medical professionals should not be exploited, abused or threatened — and the U.S. should lead the charge.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Yahoo
Milwaukee is becoming a hub for human trafficking. Here's what police want you to know
Human trafficking remains a hidden crime, often under-reported to authorities. The Milwaukee Police Department is trying to change that. As part of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, members of the department's Human Trafficking Task Force are speaking out to dispel myths about trafficking and encourage people to come forward. The task force recently investigated a high-profile case that resulted in charges against a half-dozen people, including a former public defender, retired municipal judge, investment banker and firefighter. The Police Department investigated 35 cases of human trafficking in each of the past two years, according to department data. So far this year, three human trafficking cases have been reported. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel interviewed Sgt. Fawn Schwandt, Detectives Michael Walker and Anna Flores, and Maria Rozek, who is a trauma counselor and victim advocate. Here are key takeaways from the conversation. Human trafficking is typically portrayed in films and TV shows as a stranger abduction. In reality, traffickers often offer those who are vulnerable — particularly youth — attention, affection and material help, like cell phones, money or housing. A trafficker builds that relationship and then exploits it, the experts said. "The most important part is with our adult victims and our young victims, it's all about vulnerabilities, and what is the number one, the strongest drug in the world? It's love," Flores said. "And so what we see a lot is they're looking for that love. They're looking for that attention." A 2018 report from the Medical College of Wisconsin found many sex trafficking victims in Milwaukee had a history of being reported missing from group homes. That trend has continued. Milwaukee has a high concentration of group homes. Youth placed in those settings often have previous trauma. "The locations of the group homes haven't changed and we know from our victims and from the traffickers that they will just park down the block and wait for the next person to come out," Flores said. "And it usually starts with like: 'Oh, you need a ride? Oh, you know, it's raining, it's cold. You want to hop in? You want to smoke some weed?'" The trafficker can promise something like a cell phone or ride back to the community where the youth is from, said Walker, another detective on the task force. "It quickly turns into them doing sex acts for money," he said. "(The youth) go into it thinking 'I'm just going to do it for this one thing' and then when we interview them, they say, 'I got in way over my head and I couldn't get out at that point.'" The task force members are planning to meet with group home owners this year to discuss requirements for reporting youth missing and other potential solutions to keep kids safe. Milwaukee's geography, concentration of group homes, and trend of intergenerational trafficking have contributed to the city's reputation as a hub for trafficking, the officials said. "Milwaukee has its unique challenges, especially when it comes to juveniles and runaways and group homes and having a vulnerable population that's susceptible to this kind of criminal activity," Walker said. The city serves as a nexus to Chicago, the Twin Cities and Fox Valley. Milwaukee also has seen multiple examples of intergenerational trafficking, which the task force members said is different from other cities. "We have people who learn to be traffickers from people within their own families," said Rozek, the victim advocate. The task force members say the vast majority of adult women they encounter who are selling sex are doing so because they are vulnerable in some way. They may not have stable housing or may be struggling with addiction, for example. The detectives see value in investigating and arresting the men who purchase sex, often called "johns." "They're driving the criminal activity," Walker said. Children cannot consent to sex with an adult, the task force members said. "There's no such thing as a child prostitute," Flores said. In recent years, there's been bipartisan support for a "safe harbor" bill to ban charging minors for prostitution by clarifying children cannot legally consent to sex with an adult. But the measure has failed to become law. The police department's task force has requested a dedicated prosecutor to handle human trafficking cases. "It takes a special person to investigate these cases and to prosecute these cases because all of the victims we work with are perceived as not credible," Flores said. Deputy District Attorney Matthew Torbenson, who is in charge of the seven prosecutors in the sensitive crimes unit, says that is unlikely, given the nature of the work and staff resources. The unit handles domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse cases. Trafficking cases often are sprawling investigations with multiple agencies, search warrants and other factors, Torbenson said. If only one person handled those cases, they could become overwhelmed or burned out. The unit also has seen staff turnover, as have other district attorney's offices in the state, and Torbenson said he would not want a case to stall if a single prosecutor left. "I have a lot of dedicated people in the sensitive crimes unit," he said. "Any of them are fantastic at those cases." The Human Trafficking Hotline is at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733. The Milwaukee Police Department's Human Trafficking Unit can be reached at 414-935-7405. To submit an anonymous tip online, go to In an emergency, call 911. Ashley Luthern is a reporter and deputy investigations editor at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What Milwaukee police want you to know about human trafficking
