FBI Investigation Dismantles 

Human Trafficking Network

Victim Specialists Play Key Role in Helping 

Trafficking Victims Recover

When a 14-year-old girl ran away from her Virginia home after a family 

conflict in 2018, law enforcement feared she could be vulnerable.

https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/national-slavery-and-human-

trafficking-prevention-month-011121 

Agents from the FBI’s 

Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force 

found the teenager at a known brothel in Maryland. After investigators 

built trust with her, she told them she had met Daniel Palacios 

Rodriguez while trying to survive on the streets. Rodriguez groomed 

her for prostitution. He slowly introduced her into sexual exploitation, 

and she was eventually trafficked by several people along the 

East Coast. She often stayed for about a week in different hotels or 

apartments that were used for trafficking.

Rodriguez referred the teen to a Maryland-based trafficker, 

Alexandra Guzman-Beato. Guzman-Beato trafficked numerous 

girls and women, including some who were brought in from 

overseas.

The traffickers advertised online and also used an elaborate 

word-of-mouth network of customers to avoid law enforcement.

“Through further investigation, we discovered there was a much larger 

network involved, where girls and women would come in from overseas 

or from other states to be exploited,” said FBI Washington Field Office 

Special Agent Jeremy Obie, who investigated this case as part of the 

task force. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and various police

 departments from Maryland, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, and 

Washington, D.C., worked closely with the FBI on the investigation.

Victim statements, combined with search warrants and electronic 

evidence, helped bring down the ring of six traffickers. The additional 

four traffickers played other roles, such as leasing apartments used for 

trafficking, recruiting girls and women, transportation, security, and 

collecting money.

Both Rodriguez and Guzman-Beato were convicted of sex trafficking 

a minor and sentenced to 16 years in prison last July. The four others

involved also received sentences ranging from 6 ½ years to 15 ½ years.

These types of cases require patient rapport-building with traumatized 

victims, as well as traditional investigative work such as search warrants,

 surveillance, data analysis, and coordination of multiple agencies.

“When you’ve met these victims and have seen what has happened to 

them, you don’t want to let them down,” Obie said. “We work day and 

night on these types of cases, and we’re very passionate about protecting 

those who cannot protect themselves: society’s innocent—our children.”

Although January is when the country marks National Slavery and Human

Trafficking Prevention Month, the FBI and our partners work to ferret out 

and arrest human traffickers every day. And while putting a stop to 

trafficking is key, the FBI also works to help victims get the services they 

need to recover.

And that’s exactly what happened in the case of the missing Virginia girl. 

Victim specialists from multiple partner agencies offered the girl therapy 

and other services to help her recover and move forward in life. She’s 

even chosen to remain in contact with the FBI, two years after she was 

rescued in January 2019.

“It’s definitely rewarding to see a good outcome and that you’ve helped 

change the whole dynamic of a child’s life. The victim sill contacts me to 

this day, keeping me updated on her life and how she’s doing,” Obie said. 

“She’s back on her feet, and she is on her way to a new beginning with a 

more positive outlook toward life.”