Jacinto is no stranger to attention, though. After escaping from the clutches of human trafficking almost 16 years ago, she has risen as a powerful voice for victims of the same crime. Now an advocate for Reintegra, an anti-human-trafficking organization that supports survivors as they rebuild their lives, she’s been face to face with top leaders in the United Kingdom, Mexico, the Vatican and the United States — meetings where she has shared her story to help prevent others from suffering similar abuse.
But this recent storm of notifications was about something different: Without naming or notifying Jacinto ahead of time, a U.S. politician had included a “totally distorted” version of her story in a politically charged speech, Jacinto said.
“This isn’t a game for me,” Jacinto said. “People need to understand that we’re absolutely nobody’s circus.” Human trafficking — a complex crime affecting millions of people worldwide — should not be turned into a political talking point, she added.
The chain of events began during Britt’s rebuttal last Thursday night. After blaming President Biden for the recent uptick in immigration, Britt described talking to a woman who, at the hands of cartels, had been raped multiple times a day. The phrasing and lack of context appeared to imply that the woman was trafficked across the border in recent years, The Washington Post’s Fact Checker wrote.
Soon after, a journalist posted a video revealing that Britt had referred to Jacinto’s harrowing story — events that happened in Mexico almost 20 years ago and were not perpetuated by drug cartels but by a pimp.
Britt’s office did not address questions about Jacinto’s case Wednesday night, instead criticizing Biden’s immigration policies. In a previous statement, Britt’s communications director told The Post that “the story Senator Britt told was 100% correct.”
A “circus,” as Jacinto put it, followed the State of the Union rebuttal. Hundreds of Jacinto’s Instagram and TikTok followers flooded her direct messages. A horde of reporters from all over the world soon followed. Jacinto’s name began trending on social media.
After surviving “four years in hell,” Jacinto said, it now feels as though some highlight only parts of her story that fit their narratives.
“As an advocate and survivor, the work I do every day of my life is what speaks for me,” Jacinto said. “It got to a point where I was getting so much attention in the U.S. from something different than what I do every day. How do I explain it … I felt bad.”
Now, Jacinto hopes people can learn her story rather than a version shared by a politician.
Born in 1992, Jacinto’s earliest memories are of abuse. From the time she was 5, Jacinto said, she was sexually abused by a relative.
“All I knew was pain,” she said.
To cope, she pictured herself as Cinderella, Snow White and other fairy tale characters who, despite hardships, always end with a prince and a true love’s kiss.
That’s the future Jacinto envisioned for herself after a man approached her at a subway station. He told her things she had yearned to hear: I love you; you’re beautiful. Next came the roses, stuffed animals, chocolates and an invitation to go on a trip to nearby Puebla.
Jacinto was 12. The man, who…
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