Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 228
Trim: 6 x 9
978-1-5381-8506-3 • Hardback • March 2024 • $32.00 • (£25.00)
978-1-5381-8507-0 • eBook • March 2024 • $30.00 • (£25.00) (coming soon)
Roger Rodriguez is an American author born in Houston, Texas. He is the author of The Long Way to Mexico which won an International Latino Book Award (2022) and Silver Book Fest Award (2022). In 2008, he was featured in the Discovery Channel for his work The Grass Beneath His Feet: The Charles Victor Thompson Story which highlights the escape of death row inmate Charles Victor Thompson. Later, this work was translated into French, German, and Italian editions.
Acknowledgments
Note to the Reader
Foreword by Dr. John Kilburn (Texas A&M International University)
1. Pastora del Mal (Pastor of Evil)
2. Los Solanos de Laredo
3. A Ghostly Figure
4. Bidi
5. The Creative Element
6. The Hidden Truth
7. A South Texas Ranch
8. Angels in Her Path
9. The Adoption Defense
10. The Chance of a Lifetime
11. Evil Crossing
12. The Dilemma
13. The Older Man
14. El Coco
15. The Pressure Mounts
16. The House on Kearny
17. The Interrogation
18. Revisiting a Murder Case
19. The Carnival
20. Where the Children’s Loyalty Is
21. Joaquin
22. Operation Cabbage Patch
23. The Fugitive
24. A Bad Day
25. The Psychological Impact on the Victims
26. Reflections
27. Problems with Strategies to Combat Human Trafficking
28. What is Next?
29. My Return Home
Bibliography
About the Author
A powerful, well-researched book on a contemporary scourge: child-trafficking. In this hair-raising account, Rodríguez casts light into the dark world of the notorious trafficker Elsa Cuellar, whose ability to transform her identity, falsify documents, and sheer smarts enabled her to elude the authorities for years.
— Bárbara Mujica, best-selling author of Frida, Miss del Río and I Am Venus
The US-Mexico border symbolizes commerce, technology, and cultural exchange. However, it hides an ominous underbelly of disappeared women, narco-killings, and arms smuggling. In the spirit of Bolaño, South Texas native Rodriguez meticulously retells the wrenching but hitherto unknown story of a disgraced pastor turned child trafficker.
— Jaime Salazar, attorney and author of Mutiny of Rage