Church Pastor, Child Trafficker - by Roger Rodriguez (Hardcover)

About the Book

This is the disturbing true story of Elsa Cuellar - one of the most notorious child traffickers you've ever heard of.

Book Synopsis

Since the early 1990s, Elsa Cuellar was able to operate in a way that left no trail. She would pose as a pastor, doctor, or lawyer to win the trust of her young victims. With the promise of a better life, citizenship, and education, these young girls were lured into the clutches of Cuellar's claws where they became the source of her wealth. This in itself made her money, but the true motive was to ensure these young girls got pregnant. By posing as a doctor or midwife, Cuellar would convince the young girls that having the baby at her home was the most sanitary and natural way to give birth. Unknown to the girls, the objective was to have a delivery that would not be on record at a hospital. This made her underground baby-selling enterprise easier. After all, who would look for a baby no one knows exists? Once Cuellar delivered the sad news to the young girls that the baby died during birth, her mission was complete.

Review Quotes

"Rodriguez asserts that many of the human-trafficking stories in headlines, movies, and television cloud society's understanding of the topic. His latest book hopes to change that by providing a sociological perspective that points to social characteristics of trafficking through the story of Elsa Cuellar. Starting in the early 1990s, it is believed that Cuellar engaged in the sex-trafficking of young girls and selling babies along the Texas-Mexico border. For 10 years, Rodriguez researched the allegations against Cuellar; he tracked down victims, interviewed investigators, and even gained access to part of the criminal underworld that Cuellar allegedly worked in, all to try to understand how she could allegedly commit these crimes for decades and still escape justice. Rodriguez is an engaging writer who weaves the often-incomplete stories and evidence into a compelling and frightening narrative of how one woman manipulated her victims and the legal system. This book will appeal to readers of true-crime stories, but it's also ideal for those looking for a real-world example of what human trafficking looks like today." --Library Journal

"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

"A chilling and detailed account of an horrific criminal activity that took years to discover and put an end to, Church Pastor, Child Trafficker: The Crimes of Elsa Cuellar in a Border Town will have a very special value for readers with an interest in white collar and organized crime accounts. An impressively research, detailed, and informative study, Church Pastor, Child Trafficker: The Crimes of Elsa Cuellar in a Border Town is a compelling read and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library True Crime collections and supplemental Criminology curriculum studies lists." --Midwest Book Review

A chilling and detailed account of an horrific criminal activity that took years to discover and put an end to, Church Pastor, Child Trafficker: The Crimes of Elsa Cuellar in a Border Town will have a very special value for readers with an interest in white collar and organized crime accounts. An impressively research, detailed, and informative study, Church Pastor, Child Trafficker: The Crimes of Elsa Cuellar in a Border Town is a compelling read and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library True Crime collections and supplemental Criminology curriculum studies lists.

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.

Rodriguez asserts that many of the human-trafficking stories in headlines, movies, and television cloud society's understanding of the topic. His latest book hopes to change that by providing a sociological perspective that points to social characteristics of trafficking through the story of Elsa Cuellar. Starting in the early 1990s, it is believed that Cuellar engaged in the sex-trafficking of young girls and selling babies along the Texas-Mexico border. For 10 years, Rodriguez researched the allegations against Cuellar; he tracked down victims, interviewed investigators, and even gained access to part of the criminal underworld that Cuellar allegedly worked in, all to try to understand how she could allegedly commit these crimes for decades and still escape justice. Rodriguez is an engaging writer who weaves the often-incomplete stories and evidence into a compelling and frightening narrative of how one woman manipulated her victims and the legal system. This book will appeal to readers of true-crime stories, but it's also ideal for those looking for a real-world example of what human trafficking looks like today.

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.

About the Author

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.