A prominent journalist and women’s rights activist, Cacho is famous for her exposés on sex trafficking and child pornography linking them to well-known politicians and businessmen.

In her 2005 book, The Demons of Eden (Los Demonios del Edén), Cacho revealed a large child pornography ring in Cancún and the United States and its powerful protectors. The book provoked retaliation, including her kidnapping, torture, and arrest. She was subjected to a year-long criminal defamation trial and was cleared of all charges in 2007.

While researching her book, Slaves of Power: A Journey to the Heart of World Sex Trafficking of Women, she says:

“For five years I travelled around the world following the trails of the mafia…who gain $35 billion a year by selling sex slaves in the local and international markets. I have followed the Colombian mafia to Venezuela, Guatemala and Mexico. I went through the United States looking for the human slave market and found it next to the White House, in Chicago and New York. I listened to the children in Cuba, and dressed up as a prostitute in Dominican Republic to interview European and American sex tourists who pay for a virgin teenager.

In 2019 Cacho was forced to flee Mexico after someone invaded her home, killed her dogs and stole her research.

Cacho is also the founder of the nonprofit Women's Assistance Center in Cancún, which provides free legal, psychological and medical services to victims of sexual violence. She is the winner of numerous international awards for her journalism, including the Wallenberg Medal, and the Olof Palme Prize and the Distinguished Leadership Award for the Defense of Human Rights by the Inter-American Dialogue. In 2010, she was named a World Press Freedom Hero of the International Press Institute.