Forbidden Freedom

Guatemala has become the source of most of the human trafficking cases uncovered recently in Southwest Florida, including two cases from neighboring villages hidden in the highlands of Huehuetenango, in the western Highlands of Guatemala. Children as young as 10 from this region are crossing the border alone, and it's not rare to find 12- and 13-year-old children traveling the Central American migrant corridor headed for the United States. Families are often happy to see their children make the trip to the United States in spite of the dangers. The young indigenous Guatemalans are willingly smuggled into the United States to help provide for their families mired in poverty in Guatemala, but after arriving in their new home, the victims often end up as slaves with no way to escape.

Read the series at the Naples Daily News - Forbidden Freedom: Slavery in Southwest Florida