Monument to Disarmament, Work and Peace by Cuban artist Thelvia Marín at UPEACE headquarters in Costa Rica.
Human trafficking and migrant smuggling are horrific and pervasive crimes that occur in every region of the world. Here are seven key questions and answers that help us better understand these crimes and their specificities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
1. How prevalent is human trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean?
In 2022 alone, authorities across 25 countries in the region detected and reported about 4,300 victims of human trafficking to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
In that year, the average number of victims in South America per 100,000 people was about 0.9, while in Central America and the Caribbean it was 0.64 per 100,000 people.
But these figures only represent what is detected. Trafficking is often hidden and underreported, and its true scale is likely to be far more significant, probably involving millions of people.
2. How is trafficking linked to migrant smuggling?
Victims in Latin America are mainly trafficked domestically – within the same country. Similarly, traffickers are mainly nationals of the country where they were convicted.
However, around 25 per cent of victims in 2022 were from elsewhere, some from neighbouring countries, others from distant regions.
According to UNODC estimates, between 200,000 and 400,000 Central American migrants are smuggled through Mexico each year to the United States alone.
With hundreds of thousands of people on the move in the Americas, fleeing poverty or violence, sometimes with irregular migration status, many end up in the hands of traffickers.
Migrants may be deceived, coerced or forced by criminals into exploitative situations, such as forced labor for little or no pay.
3. Why are people trafficked and smuggled?
Trafficking and smuggling are often fuelled by poverty, inequality, armed violence, crime, political instability, natural disasters and other drivers of displacement and vulnerability, such as climate change.
These factors create desperation, pushing people to seek out opportunities – sometimes abroad – which can lead to exploitation.
4. Who are the victims of trafficking?
A significant proportion of trafficking victims in Latin America and the Caribbean are women and girls.
In South America, women account for a 45 per cent of detected trafficking victims, with girls making up another 17 per cent. Meanwhile, in Central America and the Caribbean, the picture is alarming: girls represent the majority – 52 per cent – of detected trafficking victims, with women accounting for 30 per cent.
The primary purpose of trafficking is sexual exploitation and forced labour. Exploitation takes place mainly in nightclubs, unofficial brothels, hotels, apartments and bars.
5. Who are the traffickers?
Cases collected by UNODC reveal a pattern of small groups targeting women for sexual exploitation.
Victims are recruited through deception to work in nightclubs and other places, only to find themselves trapped in exploitation, under constant surveillance and control.
Traffickers may operate alone, in loose networks, as business organizations or as part of highly organized, hierarchical criminal groups.
6. Who are the smugglers?
As for smuggling, most perpetrators in the Americas have no criminal background and operate on a small scale through personal connections.
Large criminal groups do not appear to be much involved in smuggling, although they profit from it by charging a “tax” on the passage of migrants.
7. How is UNODC helping to train anti-trafficking and anti-smuggling experts across Latin America?
One of UNODC’s areas of work is to train and mentor people who use this knowledge to fight traffickers and smugglers and support victims.
On 26 August 2024, UNODC, together with the University for Peace (UPEACE) and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), organized a special learning programme – the International Academy on Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling.
The two-week course in San José, Costa Rica, will help 40 criminal justice professionals from Latin America and the Caribbean learn about the latest investigative techniques, the means of effective international cooperation, victim protection and other issues.
The Academy's panellists included representatives of national governments and law enforcement agencies, as well as UNODC, INTERPOL and UPEACE.
Speaking at the Academy, Roberto Almendras of the Bolivian Prosecutor's Office said: “Organized crime is on the rise in our region, and we need to organize ourselves as countries to fight it, share knowledge and acquire new skills.”
A second Academy is planned for 2025, with more to come in the future.
The International Academy is funded by Global Affairs Canada as part of Project Turquesa, an initiative led by UNODC and INTERPOL, which aims to identify and respond to cases of trafficking and smuggling in the Americas.
