Mexican Mothers Pimped Out By Gangs Holding Children Captive

Prosecutors in Mexico have revealed on Tuesday that two children, who were previously held captive by pimps in Mexico, have been freed after a raid last week in the Mexican town of Tenancingo. The mothers of the two children were forced into prostitution in the United States by the kdinappers and gangs.

The notion of gangs kidnapping children and using them as incentive for their mother's to prostitute themselves is not a new one, but the recent raid has confirmed the tales that organized gangs were forcing women to sell themselves. The pimps strategy for coercing the mothers is as follows: They promise the women love nad marriage, father children with the women, leave children with family members in Tenancingo, and then force the mothers to sell their bodies.

According to the federal Attorney General's Office, the mothers of the two rescued children--aged 6 and 9--were forced to be prostitutes in Texas and New York. Three arrests were made in the raid and all three individuals, who are part of the same family, face human trafficking charges.

"These people (the pimps) ... used their children as a form of coercion," said the prosecutors' office reports the Associated Press. "They are separated from their mothers and left under the care of families in Tenancingo, and the women are forced into exploitation to get money, which was supposedly destined for the care of the children."

By keeping the children hostage, the pimps are ensuring the mothers are less likely to identify the pimps.

"The worst thing she told me she was forced to do, at 16 with her daughter held in Tenancingo, she had to 'subdue' a young girl of 14," said Rosi Orozco, an activist. "She had to watch her make sure she didn't escape. She said it was one of the most horrible things she had to do, but her child's live was at stake."