Soldiers and Kings: Survival, Hope, and Empathy in the World of Human Smuggling Over the last decade, many places in the Global South that people once called home have grown inhospitable because of poverty, violence, corruption, and climate change. In response to the out-migration of millions of desperate people seeking refuge, countries like the United States and Mexico have attempted to harden their borders through various security measures. In response, migrants have turned to transnational gangs such as MS-13 who have become involved in the human smuggling industry. In 2015, Jason De Leon began a long-term ethnographic project focused on understanding the daily lives of Honduran smugglers who profit from transporting migrants across the length of Mexico. In this talk, De Leon presents stories from his recent book and examines the complicated relationship among transnational gangs, the human smuggling industry, and migrant desires for safety and well-being.This event is part of the Fall 2025 event series "Undocumented Migration into a Hostile America."Presented by the Peace & Conflict Studies Program and Longyear Museum of Anthropology. This event is generously supported by a Colgate Arts Council grant and co-sponsored by: ALANA Cultural Center, Africana and Latin American Studies Program, Department of Economics, Department of Educational Studies, Environmental Studies Program, Department of Geography, Department of History, Lampert Institute for Civic and Global Affairs (Schaehrer lecture), Museum Studies Program, Department of Political Science, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.