some info (could be a bit of an overload)

The following is a research project I worked over human trafficking in Latin America. Be informed. I was. I warn that it is quite long.

100,000 women and children are trafficked across Latin America, 500,000 girls under the age of 16 are prostituted in northeast Argentina, 35,000 Columbian women were sold within one year into the international sex industry, the U.S. CIA estimates that approximately 50,000 persons are trafficked into slavery in the United States annually, 15,000 of those enslaved each year are Latin Americans.

Each number seem overwhelming, the equivalent of university campuses, football stadiums and entire communities. Yet we must remember that each number is made up of individuals; men, women and children who have their own story of deception, abuse and devastation. Imagine, if you can, being the eldest daughter in search for an honest way to help your parents provide for your younger siblings, you are told of a waitressing job in a tourist area in a neighboring country. You leave with your parents blessing, accompanied by an acquaintance, but soon find yourself abused, sexually and physically, far from home without any means to return. Imagine being a young boy on your way to school when you are offered a ride from a family friend, you never knew this man would hand you off to another man, and another and another until you found yourself half way across the continent. Imagine you are a father, a skilled laborer, who dreams of better opportunities for your children. An office offering work in Russia that will pay four times that amount you make each month, all that is required is for you to pay for the plane ticket upfront and visa work. The promise of getting refunded and paid the due amount soon fades when you find yourself cooking, eating and sleeping in the same small space, where you also share two restrooms with 200 other compatriots who have lost hope. These are the stories that make up the numbers.

Human trafficking in Latin America was documented at the brink of World War I by the League of Nations which conducted a three year investigation on the issue. The investigation concluded that “Latin America is the traffic market of the world.” Today the region follows Asia to be the second largest global source of enslaved women. Trafficking has become a lucrative business, third in line after drug and arm trade. Disguising humans to cross borders with false documents is much easier and less risky than narcotics or weapons. $500 million dollars is the estimated annual income for the Columbian trafficking market. Approximately 35,000 women are trafficked out of Colombia into the international prostitution market, averaging over $14,000 per trafficked person.

Men, women and children are trafficked throughout the region and internationally with the ends of sexual exploitation, bonded labor and illegal organ sales. In many cases the victims of trafficking travel willingly, following the promise and prospect of better opportunities abroad. Commonly one thinks of workers who willingly moving from their homeland to another nation in search of better wages and opportunities as migrants. However in many cases those who intend to be migrants end up in the web of trafficking. Knowing the difference between migration and trafficking is key to understanding the problems victims may face when moved from one location to another. Migration is the move of one place, country or location to another. People migrate with the basis to find better land, climate or job opportunities. For the most part, those who choose to migrate can also choose to return to their place of origin. On the other hand the U.N. defines trafficking as… “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.”

The difference between these two terms is the use of force, be this mental or physical, to move a person from one location to another. Victims of trafficking might not initially suspect any foul play. Many times the victims are willing participant in the move. A common example in Latin America is young women who “fall in love” with a man who promises them a better life and employment opportunities abroad. They travel with the man, many times with the consent of relatives, and soon find themselves working at brothel, humiliated, with no means to return home. A case in September found 3 Bolivian women between the ages of 15-17 who traveled to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina with “boyfriends”, men over the age of 30, who promised them jobs. The girls left with their parents consent and soon found themselves forced into sexual labor. Hundreds of Bolivian women are also taken to La Rinconada de Puno, a Peruvian mining town, with similar promises and outcomes. In 2006 only 2 out of over 200 young women were rescued from one of the approximately 180 brothels in this town. This year 23 women were repatriated from Puno, but charges are pending to the perpetrators. Government agencies rarely have the means to take on cases abroad, even in neighboring nations.

While the issue of trafficking has been around for decades, only in recent years have government agencies and authorities began to address the issue publicly. In Latin America the legal system of each country has its own terminology and conditions which determine the crime and punishment for traffickers. Records of human trafficking are not commonly kept within the region, leading government leaders and the general to believe that the situation is not a serious reality. Since they may not see or know of trafficked victims, they assume it does not occur, therefore not making it a pertinent issue to address in the public or private sector. The records that are kept along with surveys held by international institutions prove that the reality is serious and must be addressed. With the continued growth of facilitated international travel, traffickers have endless options on how to move persons and where to take them.


Trafficking can occur in stages, as is the case of Guatemala’s border with Mexico at Tecun Uman. Here men, women and children travel from throughout Central America in order to cross over and make their way through Mexico to the U.S. or Canada. Many come in the hands of trafficker or simply by their own means. If one unsuccessfully crosses the border, he or she is returned to the Guatemalan side and not to his or her home country. In order to cross again, a person will need funds to pay for documentation or help to cross. At Tecum Uman women and children become most vulnerable; many are forced into prostitution in order to pay debt that got them to the border or to pay fees to cross. There is a high demand for prostitution due to the amount of male immigrants. Many women who dreamed of arriving to the United States to be a domestic worker will never cross into Mexico and will spend their days and nights in brothels.

Border towns have long held the reputation for locations of commercial sexual exploitation. The tri-border of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil is no different, and has been deemed the Bangkok of South America by the director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Sex tourists are now turning to this region as alternate options to past sex-vacation destinations which are now more carefully monitored by authorities. One local agency was aware of 700 cases of child trafficking, but only reported 40 to authorities in the past 3 years. Here the issues of rightful authority allows for trafficking incidences’ to go underreported, while leaving government officials to believe the problem is under surveillance. Currently there are five security institutions that work at the Argentine border and while communication between these might be difficult, communication with Paraguayan and Brazilian counterparts is all the more complex. Security institutions are also better trained and prepared to combat narcotic smuggling and might not be aware of the ties between drug and human trafficking.

You might be asking yourself, with a problem so grave and widespread, what can actually be done to aid the victims and institutions in Latin America? There are several existing organizations based throughout Latin America that are working with authorities to prevent and try trafficking cases, as well as assist victims. IJM has offices in Guatemala and Bolivia, with affiliate offices in Peru and Honduras. Each office takes on case depending on the specific mission the office has in its country. In Bolivia abuse cases of minors are taken from the city of La Paz and El Alto. Training seminars on victim assistance have been provided for the local police force and other public officials. Seminars and workshops are also offered to local church leaders, congregations and the general public in order to raise awareness on the issue of domestic violence and sexual abuse of minors.