Woman pleads guilty to working for trafficking ring in US

A Honduran woman, herself a victim of trafficking, has pleaded guilty at a Newark, New Jersey (USA) court, to being the “enforcer” for a trafficking ring which brought girls as young as 14 to the US and forced them to work in bars. They had to make at least $500 a day to pay off their $20,000 debt to the traffickers for bringing them to the country. It is not yet known if this forced labour included sexual exploitation, but the woman, Xochil Nectalina Rosales Martinez, 29, has admitted to forcing the women to have abortions when they became pregnant. One baby was born, however, in a toilet bowl. The baby died soon after.
“Did you hear it cry when it was pulled from the toilet?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah J. Gannett asked.
“Sí,” Rosales Martinez replied, weeping.
The alleged ring leaders of the gang Medrano and Rosales Martinez’s cousins, Noris Elvira Rosales Martinez and Ana Luz Rosalez Martinez are awaiting trial on conspiracy, alien smuggling and other charges.
The victims of human trafficking will be allowed to remain in the US under a special visa regime.