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She Ran Banks in Colombia, Then Cleaned Floors in America

Our American Stories / Lee Habeeb
The Truth Network Radio
February 10, 2026 3:03 am

She Ran Banks in Colombia, Then Cleaned Floors in America

Our American Stories / Lee Habeeb

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February 10, 2026 3:03 am

Gladys Gonzalez shares her powerful immigrant story of overcoming adversity and achieving the American Dream through hard work, patience, and determination. She founded the Suazo Center, a non-profit organization that helps Hispanic entrepreneurs create their own American dream by providing education, resources, and access to capital.

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Get a free trial today. Go to upfaithandfamily.com slash iHeart. And we continue here with Our American Stories, and now it's time for one of our favorite recurring segments, our American Dreamers series, which is brought to us by the great folks at Job Creators Network. And they're working hard in Washington, D.C. and state capitals across this country, trying to work for policies that help small business owners.

become bigger business owners. and get their part of the American dream. And now we bring you a powerful Immigrant Story My name is Gladys Gonzalez. And I was born and raised In Bogotá, Colombia. My life hasn't been easy, and maybe because of that.

I learned many lessons. I have learned that life can change from night to day. For the better of four wars. Like it happened to me. when I was working in Colombia and I was so happy there.

I had a VP position called the Bank. with headquarters in New York at the time of the drug dealers' war. In 1991, The first drug dealer had to come. the estates in Extradition. Our view is the right approach is to bring to justice narcotics traffickers, to uh coordinate and cooperate as best as we can with Colombia.

The drug dealers Said for every drug dealer that you send to the United States. We are going to kill seven Americans or people that work for Americans. And at that point, the bank decided to close business in Colombia. I had been working for them already nine years. It was a nightlife.

My salary was in dollars.

So I had a very good life. I had time to share with my family. It was beautiful. But unfortunately I had to leave the country.

So I decided to move to Utah. I really Had a hard life in the United States at the beginning. I had this hope. That because I was an executive in an American bank in Colombia, I would be able to get a good job.

Soon here. But it didn't happen. I didn't have an MBA, I didn't have a title. from the United States, only from Colombia.

So I ended up cleaning floors. And for that I was very qualified. I started from the very bottom of the ladder. I had three jobs at the same time. One of my jobs was taking care of people with disabilities.

When I was finished with that job, I will go to my second job. that was to clean offices. Then I will go home to sleep for a couple of hours. and get up the next day to start my routine again. On Saturdays, I had my third job.

delivering bundles of newspapers. Two kids. Carriers?

so they could drop the newspapers in their box. I learned it firsthand. how hard the life of an immigrant could be. Many times I remember my kids. Telling me, Mom.

What would have been worse? For us. To a stay in our country facing the drug dealers and guerrilla war, Or moving to USA. to face this Stop. Life.

And I will tell them. Don't worry. We will make our way. Out of peace. Sunday.

We just need to be patient. I got to the conclusion. that only having a business I will be able to succeed. And I started looking. What type of business I could have?

Dad. will help me to succeed.

So I started by What? is not available in Utah and I thought Hmm. There is no Hispanic newspaper here.

So probably that's what I'm gonna do.

So I started the newspaper and the first newspaper took us a month. to do it.

So you can imagine how fresh the news were. Since the beginning, My dream was integration, so I decided, okay, we will have bilingual editorials. And so I thought How can I make people start placing advertising? And I said, I need to get a couple of companies that are powerful here.

So I went to visit with them. And I told them, I will donate. a full page in my newspaper. You don't have to pay me anything. But if you wanna outreach the Hispanic community, I will give you the ad for free, but you gave me the ad Totally ready.

And for them? What's a good deal?

So they say, okay. Let's do it. Uh My next challenge came when I didn't have Cash flow.

So I started thinking, okay, I will have to close the newspaper. and at that point I visited with late Senator Pete Suazo. And I told him I have to close the newspaper and he told me, No, you cannot do that, Ladys, that's the voice of the community.

So he told me, How much money do you need? and I said, ten thousand dollars cash flow.

So he told me, Have you been rejected by any bank? And I said, Yes, do you have a letter? Yes, I do. And he said, well, that's all we need. There is an organization called Juda Micro Enterprise Loan.

So we can apply We delayed the Nile Do you do a business plan? and I'll help you to present. To the Commirie. I got till one. And the day that I got the lawn I took a photocopy of the check.

And then at night. I wrote an outline of my vision of what will be A business center resource For minorities. where people will be able to get education, how to write a business plan. how to apply for RONS. and at the same time I will team up with banks to have source of capital available for them.

In 2002 when pizza so dying. I decided that I wanted to honor his legacy. and I asked for authorization to his family. to use his name. and to create the SUASO Center non-profit.

Um We have served between seven and eight thousand companies. since the inception of the centre. one of those companies. is actually a change of nine supermarkets. It is owned by a Mexican woman, and we helped her.

with the first little store, And later on, when she wanted to open the first big supermarket in El Latino Mall, a team of eight people were helping her. to create all the business plan. Yeah. And she got a loan for $700,000. Today, she gives employment to over 500.

people. For me. The American Dream. It's not about what the government does for us. Or who is the president?

For me, it is about contributing. are talents. toward thick houses. It's about alleviating the suffering of those in need. It's about being a valuable part of the country That is now our home.

It's learning the language. and not having fear of expressing ourselves. even if we have a strong accent. I could see there Myself. that I have fully lived.

The American dream. I continue living the American dream. Yeah, yeah. And you've been listening to Gladys Gonzalez, founder of the Suazzo Center. which helps Hispanic entrepreneurs create their own American dream.

Glades was a was an executive at a bank. and came to the country and that expertise and experience just wasn't honored. And so she was cleaning floors. but with patience and with diligence ended up living her own version of the American dream. A great immigrant story.

Here. On Our American Stories. Are you looking for entertainment that lifts you up? Then check out Upt Faith and Family, the leading streaming service for inspiring, hope-filled shows and movies. This season streams soul-stirring favorites like Southern Gospel, plus four full seasons of Jesus Calling, and the uplifting new faith series These Stones.

Or settle in with 19 seasons of the beloved family series Heartland, a family favorite ranch drama fans can't get enough of. It's commercial free. Stream anywhere. Get a free trial today. Go to upfaithandfamily.com slash iHeart.

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