SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Project DYNAMO, a veteran-led nonprofit organization, which conducts humanitarian search-and-rescue operations domestically and internationally, announced Thursday at an event in San Antonio that Project DYNAMO will begin fighting human trafficking worldwide.
The announcement was made by Project DYNAMO’s President and CEO Mario Duarte to more than 50 people, including current and former military, government and intelligence officials, during an event at Longtab Brewing in San Antonio.
Through the initiative, dubbed Archangel, Project DYNAMO plans to harness and leverage the collective power of their veteran-led clandestine intelligence and special forces experiences, as well as military and law enforcement partnerships in the United States and allied countries, to identify and rescue victims of human trafficking.
The event featured the testimony of a human trafficking victim named Alexa, whom Project DYNAMO members met during October’s horseback Operation Rocky Top Rider in western North Carolina, a search-and-rescue effort following the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene.
Notably, Ron Johnson, the former Ambassador to El Salvador under president President-elect Donald Trump, was present for the announcement.
Johnson was the ambassador to El Salvador when President Nayib Bukele imprisoned nearly all MS-13 gang members, quashing the group almost entirely. MS-13 was one of the most violent gangs in the world, and engaged in the practice of human trafficking. With Bukele’s leadership and Johnson’s support, El Salvador is now one of the safest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Duarte is a decorated former military and intelligence figure himself. He is a dual U.S.and Guatemalan citizen who not only served in the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserves, but was also Guatemala’s former Secretary of Strategic Intelligence, the highest-ranking intel officer in the country. He also has 20 years of experience in intelligence consulting in the private sector, including consulting for a major U.S. Defense Contractor.
Members of Project DYNAMO’s board of directors also experience in the U.S. intelligence and law enforcement communities.
“I am so thrilled to add the Archangel initiative to Project DYNAMO’s day-to-day operations,” said Duarte. “There are more than 27 million human trafficking victims worldwide, and we already have the infrastructure and a strong network of partners in place to begin countering the vile practice. Our experienced team is ready to begin rescuing victims from the clutches of their captors and providing them resources to recover when they are safely returned to their homes.”
Since 2021, Project DYNAMO has conducted search-and-rescue missions across the world, extracting Americans from warzones and natural disasters.
The team rescued Americans stranded in Afghanistan after the 2021 withdrawal from the country, and the next year, was the first to rescue Americans from Ukraine after the Russian invasion.
Project DYNAMO has also rescued Americans in Israel, Taiwan, Sudan and Haiti.
The organization conducted domestic operations after Hurricane Ian in 2022, the Maui wildfires in 2023, and Hurricanes Helene and Milton this year.
Founded during the U.S. pullout from Afghanistan in 2021, Project DYNAMO is an international search, rescue, aid and assistance 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in Tampa, Florida with worldwide operations. Project DYNAMO operates where the United States government cannot, or does not. The primary objective of Project DYNAMO is to provide assistance to those impacted in disaster areas and conflict zones throughout the world. Notably, Project DYNAMO conducted the first air-rescue missions from Afghanistan after the Taliban took control, and has negotiated the release and exfiltrated numerous Americans from captivity and false imprisonment.
For media-related inquiries, please contact our PR firm at 813.279.8335 or by emailing news@judgepr.com.
