Church Pastor, Child Trafficker

The Crimes of Elsa Cuellar in a Border Town

Roger Rodriguez, John C. Kilburn, Jr., associate dean of researc

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English

Rowman & Littlefield
05 March 2024

Since the early 90’s, 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 an education, these young girls were lured into the clutches of Cuellar’s claws where they became the source of her wealth. Her numerous family photos were just one of the pieces of evidence authorities found that showed Cuellar’s true intention was to advertise her young victims to older men. This in itself made her money, but the true motive was to ensure these young girls got pregnant. By posing as a doctor or mid-wife, Cuellar would convince the young girls that having the baby at her home was the most sanitary 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.

The research for this project goes back to 2013. For almost nine years, I have looked for victims, people who know Elsa, interviewed law enforcement, and gained possession of documents that not any ordinary citizen has access to. Hundreds of hours have gone into the scholarly research and hunting down the truth of how Elsa Cuellar never saw a day of prison. Today, the extent of Cuellar’s damage cannot be ascertained. There could be hundreds of men and women who are in their thirties by now who were raised believing their guardians are their true biological parents. Photos, documents, interviews, and stories from sources close to Cuellar will assist in putting together the pieces of this amazing puzzle that for years had law enforcement wondering how they could gather enough to put Elsa Cuellar behind bars.

In the end, Cuellar never sees a day in a prison cell and after the mysterious re-assigning of the lead prosecutor, she is found guilty of only one count of tampering with document officials meaning twenty-three other counts were dropped. Nothing regarding the children was ever presented in court and before this project, the public had no idea what happened to Cuellar. It had been rumored she had stage 4 terminal cancer and had months to live. It had been reported that government deported her because they did not want to pay her medical bills, but six years later Cuellar re-appears in Laredo, Texas preaching at a church. What happens to Elsa Cuellar? This collection of nine years’ worth of work will deliver the story many have been waiting to hear. The victims of Elsa Cuellar deserve a voice and this project provides it.

By: Roger Rodriguez
Foreword by: John C. Kilburn Jr. associate dean of researc
Imprint: Rowman & Littlefield
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 237mm, Width: 160mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 544g
ISBN: 9781538185063
ISBN 10: 1538185067
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 05 March 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

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.

Reviews for Church Pastor, Child Trafficker: The Crimes of Elsa Cuellar in a Border Town

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