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Operation Underground Railroad Rescues Nine Girls Being Pimped by Their High School Teacher

May 01, 2017
Staff

WRITER

Tim Ballard, founder and CEO of Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R), joined Glenn in studio, along with colleague Matt Osborne, to discuss one of their latest rescue operations in South America. Osborne, formally with the CIA and State Department, led the operation that resulted in nine girls being rescued and the arrest of their high school physical education teacher who was pimping them out. Matt shared the harrowing details surrounding O.U.R.'s rescue mission.

Become a modern day abolitionist by visiting OurRescue.org to get informed and make a donation.

Listen to this segment from The Glenn Beck Program...

GLENN: Operation Underground Railroad. Tim Ballard is joining us with an update on some kids that have recently been rescued, thanks to you and this audience. Thank you for your support on trying to end slavery and free some children. Hi, Tim, how are you?

TIM: Hi, great. Thanks for having us back.

GLENN: So can you talk about the operation that you just did?

TIM: Yes, we just got back recently. It was amazing. We brought your own chief investigator with us, so he could be eyes on. And I'm lucky to bring Matt Osborne, formally of the CIA and state department, and he led that operation. And some amazing things happened. And I'm going to let Matt tell you what they are.

MATT: Thank you. So, again, thanks to your audience. Unbelievable. The resources we were able to go down to South America, as specific as we'll be now. In the coming days, we can talk a little bit more. There I believe in the small little place near the Amazon, there was a professor, a high school physical education teacher pimping out nine of his students. Both in positive ways. Hey, if you do this, you get good grades, a little bit of money. And in negative ways. If you don't do this. If you don't allow these men to do whatever they want, I will tell your parents, I will do all of these things. So we were so blessed. We went down. We had our aftercare team in place. Minutes before the operation, operation underground railroad sent a prayer request out to all of our supporters, many probably in this audience, and we had a miracle. Not only were all of the girls rescued, ten of them total, two traffickers arrested, including this teacher, Jason will talk a little bit more about it next week. But our aftercare team not only was on the ground, they were able to go in with the South American countries child protective services equivalent. Be there, and minutes after the rescue, they stayed all afternoon, all evening, all night with the girls.

GLENN: That doesn't happen.

MATT: Doesn't happen.

GLENN: The worst thing about your job, besides having to see what you guys see, you never get the satisfaction of seeing the kids rescued, them knowing that you're a good guy. They see you guys being hauled away in handcuffs, and they just think you're a dirt bag.

TIM: And oftentimes they're scoffing. Yeah, you get yours. No, we were here for you.

MATT: Or spit on you as we're on the ground.

TIM: It's tough. It's tough.

GLENN: So this time, they did. I mean, you got to see the joy in many of them. How did you find out about a teacher doing this?

MATT: So we're very fortunate to have great relationships with the federal governments in several countries through the U.S. embassy, through Homeland Security. They, in this case, said we don't have the resources to go to the outer reaches of our country, but we will give you the green light. Your operation underground railroad operatives, go and see what you find. We sent three Americans about a month or two just in this area, they took an Amazon river cruise, they got the word around that they were looking for a certain type of product and one person led to another who led to this teacher. Real miracle that we were able to find it.

GLENN: So this was a fishing trip, really. I mean, you go on -- I mean, I've seen you do this, like, in Bangkok and in Haiti where you go where the sex trafficking is happening. But this, again, you only found that teacher not from a tip but just from a fishing expedition.

MATT: That's correct. To be on a jump team and to go where this need is, and that's how this happened.

TIM: There's places in the world that are so dark, the darkest corners of the planet where kids are being held with zero hope that anyone's going to find them. Their own governments are saying we don't work up there. And they know that. So we become the only hope. Because we will go into the places that even governments won't go or can't go. And to just have that hope out there for those kids who are locked up.

GLENN: Do you have any idea -- did the parents or did the school have any idea any of this stuff was going on?

MATT: The school said they did not. The professor was fired three hours after this news hit. He is no longer -- he's in jail now. They claim that they did not know anything. The parents from what we get, half the parents claim to have no idea and then half the parents now in the interviews, there are a couple of single families, single parent families who said I was afraid something like this would happen. But our -- aftercare team gave them training, anti-trafficking training in the days following this operation that happened about nine days ago or so.

GLENN: So what happened -- I just saw a video this morning, and it happened a while back. I was surprised. Pat and I watched it this morning. Shocked we didn't know about it. A woman, a girl, lives in Ohio. She was I think 17 at the time. She was raped by a guy who -- these two girls met, I'm not sure exactly how it came down. But her friend Periscoped this rape. And instead of putting the phone down to help, she just Periscoped the whole thing and was responding to the comments, and she was, like, getting so many likes, and she was just -- I mean, it was crazy. And you see this now 18-year-old girl on her little girl bed that all of our daughters had growing up, and she's just -- she's vacant. She's just gone. What happens to these girls who were used by a teacher like this? And the parents. Do the parents get help?

MATT: Some of them will have a steep trip back. Remember, I was the bad guy, I was with them for about 30 minutes while the deal was going down. I am very positive that these girls will still be able to come back. They seem very full of life, they seemed a little bit shy, a little bit scared of us, but we talked about their dreams, we talked about what they wanted to do. Talked about wanting to be travel agents, tour guides, public administration. So I have a feeling, especially because we have this great relationship now. Our aftercare with the prosecutor, with their child protective services equivalent. We will be in touch with them in the weeks and months to come making sure that their road is paved.

GLENN: Tim, people are saying why aren't you doing stuff in America? Well, there are things that happen that you can't necessarily talk about because -- I mean, we can't even give you the name of the country on this particular thing. There are things that are happening right around America that you don't necessarily want to talk about.

But beyond that, these -- a lot of these places, especially over in Asia, the guys who are doing this are Americans and one of them was a teacher.

TIM: Yeah.

GLENN: That was caught.

TIM: Absolutely. We do work in the United States. We don't talk as much about it, but we do. And even when we don't, we target those Americans. Look, these are the people that live next door to us, but their inhibitions are down when they're traveling for sex in Asia or Latin America. We get them there and when they do, they don't come home. They rot in a foreign prison, and our kids are safe. So working over there is protecting our kids here.

GLENN: Because it gets worse and worse and worse when they go on these sex vacations.

TIM: Oh, yeah.

GLENN: You can't turn it off when you come home. Can you talk about that teacher that was here in America that you guys busted?

TIM: Yeah. I mean, this was a teacher that, you know, was teaching middle schoolkids and taking all of his vacations over in Asia and exploiting kids and people there. And we were able to catch him because he had just an enormous collection of child pornography, including stuff that he had produced. And there he is doing -- living these two lives, and then he's with our kids teaching them French or whatever he's teaching. It's just -- we have to root these guys out.

PAT: Are these guys generally married or single?

TIM: Both. That doesn't seem to deter them, if they're married.

PAT: Jeez.

TIM: Yeah.

GLENN: We just lost two operatives over in the Middle East that have been working with us to save moms and children from ISIS. Dads usually killed and then mom and the girls are taken and used as sex slaves or worse.

How dangerous is it for you guys to go out? I mean, you're not dealing with ISIS, per se. But how dangerous is this for you guys?

TIM: I think it's -- it's very dangerous. I mean, we're -- because our whole job, we call ourself operation underground railroad because we're trying to get inspiration from what that group did and what they did was filter the darkness. Everything we do whether it's online or physically and the more dangerous part, obviously, is the physical infiltration of these black markets. Matt ask his team, they were infiltrating people who were selling kids. This is -- we're disturbing their economic flow, their reputations.

GLENN: In some countries, that shall remain nameless, you know, the cartels will come after you here.

TIM: Oh, yeah, there's operations that we don't -- that we've been on that we've conducted that have been successful that no one even knows have been done. There's times we won't announce anything and we wish everyone can know what we're doing all the time and we can't because we tap into something like that.

GLENN: If you want to become involved, I urge you to go to OurRescue.org. That's OurRescue.org. Even a $5 monthly pledge goes a long way. You know, we all think that oh, you know, gee, if I were there, I would have stopped slavery. Really? Because slavery is a lot bigger than it was during the slave trade that we all read about in history books. A lot bigger. And are we doing anything? Just like in the olden days, people didn't want to look at it. They didn't want to think about it, they think wanted to put it out of their mind. Become an abolitionist. Join us today. OurRescue.org. Thanks, guys.

TIM: Appreciate it.

EXPOSED: Why Eisenhower warned us about endless wars

PAUL J. RICHARDS / Staff | Getty Images

Donald Trump emphasizes peace through strength, reminding the world that the United States is willing to fight to win. That’s beyond ‘defense.’

President Donald Trump made headlines this week by signaling a rebrand of the Defense Department — restoring its original name, the Department of War.

At first, I was skeptical. “Defense” suggests restraint, a principle I consider vital to U.S. foreign policy. “War” suggests aggression. But for the first 158 years of the republic, that was the honest name: the Department of War.

A Department of War recognizes the truth: The military exists to fight and, if necessary, to win decisively.

The founders never intended a permanent standing army. When conflict came — the Revolution, the War of 1812, the trenches of France, the beaches of Normandy — the nation called men to arms, fought, and then sent them home. Each campaign was temporary, targeted, and necessary.

From ‘war’ to ‘military-industrial complex’

Everything changed in 1947. President Harry Truman — facing the new reality of nuclear weapons, global tension, and two world wars within 20 years — established a full-time military and rebranded the Department of War as the Department of Defense. Americans resisted; we had never wanted a permanent army. But Truman convinced the country it was necessary.

Was the name change an early form of political correctness? A way to soften America’s image as a global aggressor? Or was it simply practical? Regardless, the move created a permanent, professional military. But it also set the stage for something Truman’s successor, President Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower, famously warned about: the military-industrial complex.

Ike, the five-star general who commanded Allied forces in World War II and stormed Normandy, delivered a harrowing warning during his farewell address: The military-industrial complex would grow powerful. Left unchecked, it could influence policy and push the nation toward unnecessary wars.

And that’s exactly what happened. The Department of Defense, with its full-time and permanent army, began spending like there was no tomorrow. Weapons were developed, deployed, and sometimes used simply to justify their existence.

Peace through strength

When Donald Trump said this week, “I don’t want to be defense only. We want defense, but we want offense too,” some people freaked out. They called him a warmonger. He isn’t. Trump is channeling a principle older than him: peace through strength. Ronald Reagan preached it; Trump is taking it a step further.

Just this week, Trump also suggested limiting nuclear missiles — hardly the considerations of a warmonger — echoing Reagan, who wanted to remove missiles from silos while keeping them deployable on planes.

The seemingly contradictory move of Trump calling for a Department of War sends a clear message: He wants Americans to recognize that our military exists not just for defense, but to project power when necessary.

Trump has pointed to something critically important: The best way to prevent war is to have a leader who knows exactly who he is and what he will do. Trump signals strength, deterrence, and resolve. You want to negotiate? Great. You don’t? Then we’ll finish the fight decisively.

That’s why the world listens to us. That’s why nations come to the table — not because Trump is reckless, but because he means what he says and says what he means. Peace under weakness invites aggression. Peace under strength commands respect.

Trump is the most anti-war president we’ve had since Jimmy Carter. But unlike Carter, Trump isn’t weak. Carter’s indecision emboldened enemies and made the world less safe. Trump’s strength makes the country stronger. He believes in peace as much as any president. But he knows peace requires readiness for war.

Names matter

When we think of “defense,” we imagine cybersecurity, spy programs, and missile shields. But when we think of “war,” we recall its harsh reality: death, destruction, and national survival. Trump is reminding us what the Department of Defense is really for: war. Not nation-building, not diplomacy disguised as military action, not endless training missions. War — full stop.

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

Names matter. Words matter. They shape identity and character. A Department of Defense implies passivity, a posture of reaction. A Department of War recognizes the truth: The military exists to fight and, if necessary, to win decisively.

So yes, I’ve changed my mind. I’m for the rebranding to the Department of War. It shows strength to the world. It reminds Americans, internally and externally, of the reality we face. The Department of Defense can no longer be a euphemism. Our military exists for war — not without deterrence, but not without strength either. And we need to stop deluding ourselves.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Censorship, spying, lies—The Deep State’s web finally unmasked

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

From surveillance abuse to censorship, the deep state used state power and private institutions to suppress dissent and influence two US elections.

The term “deep state” has long been dismissed as the province of cranks and conspiracists. But the recent declassification of two critical documents — the Durham annex, released by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and a report publicized by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard — has rendered further denial untenable.

These documents lay bare the structure and function of a bureaucratic, semi-autonomous network of agencies, contractors, nonprofits, and media entities that together constitute a parallel government operating alongside — and at times in opposition to — the duly elected one.

The ‘deep state’ is a self-reinforcing institutional machine — a decentralized, global bureaucracy whose members share ideological alignment.

The disclosures do not merely recount past abuses; they offer a schematic of how modern influence operations are conceived, coordinated, and deployed across domestic and international domains.

What they reveal is not a rogue element operating in secret, but a systematized apparatus capable of shaping elections, suppressing dissent, and laundering narratives through a transnational network of intelligence, academia, media, and philanthropic institutions.

Narrative engineering from the top

According to Gabbard’s report, a pivotal moment occurred on December 9, 2016, when the Obama White House convened its national security leadership in the Situation Room. Attendees included CIA Director John Brennan, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Secretary of State John Kerry, and others.

During this meeting, the consensus view up to that point — that Russia had not manipulated the election outcome — was subordinated to new instructions.

The record states plainly: The intelligence community was directed to prepare an assessment “per the President’s request” that would frame Russia as the aggressor and then-presidential candidate Donald Trump as its preferred candidate. Notably absent was any claim that new intelligence had emerged. The motivation was political, not evidentiary.

This maneuver became the foundation for the now-discredited 2017 intelligence community assessment on Russian election interference. From that point on, U.S. intelligence agencies became not neutral evaluators of fact but active participants in constructing a public narrative designed to delegitimize the incoming administration.

Institutional and media coordination

The ODNI report and the Durham annex jointly describe a feedback loop in which intelligence is laundered through think tanks and nongovernmental organizations, then cited by media outlets as “independent verification.” At the center of this loop are agencies like the CIA, FBI, and ODNI; law firms such as Perkins Coie; and NGOs such as the Open Society Foundations.

According to the Durham annex, think tanks including the Atlantic Council, the Carnegie Endowment, and the Center for a New American Security were allegedly informed of Clinton’s 2016 plan to link Trump to Russia. These institutions, operating under the veneer of academic independence, helped diffuse the narrative into public discourse.

Media coordination was not incidental. On the very day of the aforementioned White House meeting, the Washington Post published a front-page article headlined “Obama Orders Review of Russian Hacking During Presidential Campaign” — a story that mirrored the internal shift in official narrative. The article marked the beginning of a coordinated media campaign that would amplify the Trump-Russia collusion narrative throughout the transition period.

Surveillance and suppression

Surveillance, once limited to foreign intelligence operations, was turned inward through the abuse of FISA warrants. The Steele dossier — funded by the Clinton campaign via Perkins Coie and Fusion GPS — served as the basis for wiretaps on Trump affiliates, despite being unverified and partially discredited. The FBI even altered emails to facilitate the warrants.

ROBYN BECK / Contributor | Getty Images

This capacity for internal subversion reappeared in 2020, when 51 former intelligence officials signed a letter labeling the Hunter Biden laptop story as “Russian disinformation.” According to polling, 79% of Americans believed truthful coverage of the laptop could have altered the election. The suppression of that story — now confirmed as authentic — was election interference, pure and simple.

A machine, not a ‘conspiracy theory’

The deep state is a self-reinforcing institutional machine — a decentralized, global bureaucracy whose members share ideological alignment and strategic goals.

Each node — law firms, think tanks, newsrooms, federal agencies — operates with plausible deniability. But taken together, they form a matrix of influence capable of undermining electoral legitimacy and redirecting national policy without democratic input.

The ODNI report and the Durham annex mark the first crack in the firewall shielding this machine. They expose more than a political scandal buried in the past. They lay bare a living system of elite coordination — one that demands exposure, confrontation, and ultimately dismantling.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Trump's proposal explained: Ukraine's path to peace without NATO expansion

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / Contributor | Getty Images

Strategic compromise, not absolute victory, often ensures lasting stability.

When has any country been asked to give up land it won in a war? Even if a nation is at fault, the punishment must be measured.

After World War I, Germany, the main aggressor, faced harsh penalties under the Treaty of Versailles. Germans resented the restrictions, and that resentment fueled the rise of Adolf Hitler, ultimately leading to World War II. History teaches that justice for transgressions must avoid creating conditions for future conflict.

Ukraine and Russia must choose to either continue the cycle of bloodshed or make difficult compromises in pursuit of survival and stability.

Russia and Ukraine now stand at a similar crossroads. They can cling to disputed land and prolong a devastating war, or they can make concessions that might secure a lasting peace. The stakes could not be higher: Tens of thousands die each month, and the choice between endless bloodshed and negotiated stability hinges on each side’s willingness to yield.

History offers a guide. In 1967, Israel faced annihilation. Surrounded by hostile armies, the nation fought back and seized large swaths of territory from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria. Yet Israel did not seek an empire. It held only the buffer zones needed for survival and returned most of the land. Security and peace, not conquest, drove its decisions.

Peace requires concessions

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says both Russia and Ukraine will need to “get something” from a peace deal. He’s right. Israel proved that survival outweighs pride. By giving up land in exchange for recognition and an end to hostilities, it stopped the cycle of war. Egypt and Israel have not fought in more than 50 years.

Russia and Ukraine now press opposing security demands. Moscow wants a buffer to block NATO. Kyiv, scarred by invasion, seeks NATO membership — a pledge that any attack would trigger collective defense by the United States and Europe.

President Donald Trump and his allies have floated a middle path: an Article 5-style guarantee without full NATO membership. Article 5, the core of NATO’s charter, declares that an attack on one is an attack on all. For Ukraine, such a pledge would act as a powerful deterrent. For Russia, it might be more palatable than NATO expansion to its border

Andrew Harnik / Staff | Getty Images

Peace requires concessions. The human cost is staggering: U.S. estimates indicate 20,000 Russian soldiers died in a single month — nearly half the total U.S. casualties in Vietnam — and the toll on Ukrainians is also severe. To stop this bloodshed, both sides need to recognize reality on the ground, make difficult choices, and anchor negotiations in security and peace rather than pride.

Peace or bloodshed?

Both Russia and Ukraine claim deep historical grievances. Ukraine arguably has a stronger claim of injustice. But the question is not whose parchment is older or whose deed is more valid. The question is whether either side is willing to trade some land for the lives of thousands of innocent people. True security, not historical vindication, must guide the path forward.

History shows that punitive measures or rigid insistence on territorial claims can perpetuate cycles of war. Germany’s punishment after World War I contributed directly to World War II. By contrast, Israel’s willingness to cede land for security and recognition created enduring peace. Ukraine and Russia now face the same choice: Continue the cycle of bloodshed or make difficult compromises in pursuit of survival and stability.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

The loneliness epidemic: Are machines replacing human connection?

NurPhoto / Contributor | Getty Images

Seniors, children, and the isolated increasingly rely on machines for conversation, risking real relationships and the emotional depth that only humans provide.

Jill Smola is 75 years old. She’s a retiree from Orlando, Florida, and she spent her life caring for the elderly. She played games, assembled puzzles, and offered company to those who otherwise would have sat alone.

Now, she sits alone herself. Her husband has died. She has a lung condition. She can’t drive. She can’t leave her home. Weeks can pass without human interaction.

Loneliness is an epidemic. And AI will not fix it. It will only dull the edges and make a diminished life tolerable.

But CBS News reports that she has a new companion. And she likes this companion more than her own daughter.

The companion? Artificial intelligence.

She spends five hours a day talking to her AI friend. They play games, do trivia, and just talk. She says she even prefers it to real people.

My first thought was simple: Stop this. We are losing our humanity.

But as I sat with the story, I realized something uncomfortable. Maybe we’ve already lost some of our humanity — not to AI, but to ourselves.

Outsourcing presence

How often do we know the right thing to do yet fail to act? We know we should visit the lonely. We know we should sit with someone in pain. We know what Jesus would do: Notice the forgotten, touch the untouchable, offer time and attention without outsourcing compassion.

Yet how often do we just … talk about it? On the radio, online, in lectures, in posts. We pontificate, and then we retreat.

I asked myself: What am I actually doing to close the distance between knowing and doing?

Human connection is messy. It’s inconvenient. It takes patience, humility, and endurance. AI doesn’t challenge you. It doesn’t interrupt your day. It doesn’t ask anything of you. Real people do. Real people make us confront our pride, our discomfort, our loneliness.

We’ve built an economy of convenience. We can have groceries delivered, movies streamed, answers instantly. But friendships — real relationships — are slow, inefficient, unpredictable. They happen in the blank spaces of life that we’ve been trained to ignore.

And now we’re replacing that inefficiency with machines.

AI provides comfort without challenge. It eliminates the risk of real intimacy. It’s an elegant coping mechanism for loneliness, but a poor substitute for life. If we’re not careful, the lonely won’t just be alone — they’ll be alone with an anesthetic, a shadow that never asks for anything, never interrupts, never makes them grow.

Reclaiming our humanity

We need to reclaim our humanity. Presence matters. Not theory. Not outrage. Action.

It starts small. Pull up a chair for someone who eats alone. Call a neighbor you haven’t spoken to in months. Visit a nursing home once a month — then once a week. Ask their names, hear their stories. Teach your children how to be present, to sit with someone in grief, without rushing to fix it.

Turn phones off at dinner. Make Sunday afternoons human time. Listen. Ask questions. Don’t post about it afterward. Make the act itself sacred.

Humility is central. We prefer machines because we can control them. Real people are inconvenient. They interrupt our narratives. They demand patience, forgiveness, and endurance. They make us confront ourselves.

A friend will challenge your self-image. A chatbot won’t.

Our homes are quieter. Our streets are emptier. Loneliness is an epidemic. And AI will not fix it. It will only dull the edges and make a diminished life tolerable.

Before we worry about how AI will reshape humanity, we must first practice humanity. It can start with 15 minutes a day of undivided attention, presence, and listening.

Change usually comes when pain finally wins. Let’s not wait for that. Let’s start now. Because real connection restores faster than any machine ever will.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.