Country Report - Human Trafficking in Venezuela

Kenza Coubrough

1. Provide an overview that explains whether this country is a source, transit, and/or destination for
international human trafficking, and/or whether trafficking/enslavement are largely internal
within the country (e.g. from rural to urban areas, or local enslavement on farms or in domestic
servitude, etc.) Explain and substantiate your response.

Venezuela is a country in located on the northern coast of South America. Human trafficking is a
very pervasive problem in the country intertwined with its myriad political, economic and social
difficulties that have become much worse with the countrys most recent president, Nicols
Maduro. The alarming state of the country due to political and subsequent economical and social
declines have made human trafficking even more of problem that, unfortunately, the government
has largely ignored.

Venezuela is a source, destination and transit country for international human trafficking [8]. Sharp
increases in poverty, economic hardship, and rampant inflation has led to a rise in trafficking.
Additionally, the Venezuelan government views itself as only a transit country, thus affecting
policy-making and implementation [4]. As recent as the 2011 Trafficking In Persons (TIP) report,
the United States categorized Venezuela as a 3rd Tier country; one that does not meet
minimum requirements for combating human trafficking and is not making the effort to do so [4,
8]. Governments on this level can be subject to economic sanctions placed by the US. For the years
2012 and 2013, Venezuela was put on the Tier 2 watch list, but has been downgraded again to Tier
3 [4, 7].

Sex work in Venezuela is legal and regulated by the government; however, this fact doesnt
mitigate sex trafficking and horrific consequences [6]. Sex trafficking is largely present within the
country, and young women and girls are often lured from poor rural areas to urban zones and
tourist areas for sex work [1]. While inter-country trafficking is common, women are often
trafficked to Western Europe as well as Mexico and the Caribbean, with the final destination
sometimes being the US [4, 8]. Domestic servitude within Venezuela is also a prevalent form of
human trafficking within the country [8]. While vulnerable natives can be trafficked to be domestic
servants, many foreign national populations are forced into domestic servitude, with particularly
high numbers of Ecuadorian and Filipino foreign-nationals involved [8]. Other major forms of
trafficking present in Venezuela are forced labor, especially in the mining industry [8].

Unofficial estimates say that around one million Venezuelans are living in Columbia, and
migrating citizens are trying to escape repression and dictatorship [9]. As inflation rises and
economic opportunities for the citizens of Venezuela become scarcer with the dissolution of their
democracy and economy, citizens will be more susceptible to trafficking and Venezuela could shift
to largely a source country.

2. If this is a destination country and/or if there is internal human trafficking, which forms of
trafficking are common in this country? (If you think that there are no forms of trafficking
happening within this country, provide citations about that, and some reasons why it is not
happening. The reasons don't have to be proven, but they must be plausible.)

Common forms of human trafficking within Venezuela include domestic servitude, sex trafficking,
and forced labor [4, 8].

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 Child labor is common, and often includes commercial sexual exploitation as well as domestic
servitude [6]. In their 2015 Child Labor and Forced Labor Report, the US Department of Labor
(DOL) asserts that there are nearly 262,000 children and adolescents between ages 10 and 17
working in Venezuela, but there is no clear way to tell how much constitutes the worst forms of
child labor such as commercial sexual exploitation and other forms of forced labor [2]. Other
activist groups estimate there may be as many as 200,000 children exploited by criminal
organizations alone, with up to one million working in the informal sector. Movement from rural to
urban is present when trafficking children for commercial sexual exploitation. They are often
moved to population hubs such as Maracaibo and the capital, Caracas, along with tourist
destinations such as Margarita Island to cater to tourists [4]. The DOL states the most vulnerable
Venezuelan children are Children from rural areas, indigenous children, Afro-descendant
children, children with disabilities, pregnant girls, and adolescent mothers face often due to
barriers to accessing education [2]. Migratory children without Venezuelan identifications are
often barred from receiving educational certificates even though this action is in conflict with
Article.2.k. of the Education Law [2]. This lack of access to education leaves these populations at a
high risk of not finishing school and being trafficked into forced labor, sexual or otherwise. It is
clear the importance education plays in mitigating high trafficking risks.

Illegal gold mining has been on the rise in recent years, and many feel the consequences [5]. The
US DOL reported there were cases of indigenous children working in illegal gold mines located in
river basins in the northwest part of the country. This problem does not just involve children.
Researchers found evidence of members of the indigenous Yamoani Tribe being exploited by
illegal miners when they were found with slave numbers tattooed on their bodies [2, 5]. There they
are extremely vulnerable to human trafficking in the forms of forced labor and commercial sexual
exploitation due to illegality and hidden nature of the operations [2]. Labor exploitation, sexual
exploitation, extortion by organized crime groups, and extreme environmental destruction are all
consequences of illegal mining operations [5].

In addition to forced exploitation of children and exploitation intertwined with illegal mining, there
is a prevalence of foreign-nationals trafficked into domestic servitude and other forms of forced
labor. They are often trafficked by foreign-nationals already living in Venezuela, and this is
especially prevalent in Ecuadorian and Filipino populations [8]. According to the US 2016 TIP
report, Venezuelan officials and international organizations have reported identifying sex and
labor trafficking victims from South American, Caribbean, Asian, and African countries in
Venezuela [8]. Media reports have revealed that doctors from Cuba working in Venezuela on
social programs have even experienced forced labor treatment [8]. They often have to work long
hours, are underplayed, and are threatened if they leave the program [8]. Estimates as high as
30,000 Cuban citizens have experienced this treatment while working in Venezuela. It should be
noted that the trade of Venezuelan oil to Cuba facilitates the exchange.

3. If this is a source country, into which forms of human trafficking and into which countries
are citizens from this country commonly trafficked? (If you think that there is little or no
trafficking of people from this country internationally, provide citations about that, and some
reasons why it is not happening. The reasons don't have to be proven, but they must be plausible.)

Venezuela is a source country largely for sex trafficking. The 2016 US TIP Report states, NGOs
continue to report Venezuelan women are subjected to forced prostitution in Caribbean island
countries, particularly Aruba, Curaao, and Trinidad and Tobago [8]. Trinidad and Tobago has
been identified as a major destination for trafficked people, as many Venezuelans have been
identified in Trinidadian brothels [3].

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 Even though prostitution in legal and regulation in Venezuela, high inflation has made making
money in the sex industry difficult. The worsening political and economic situation has forced
women to cross the border to Colombia where they can make a living wage for doing the same
work [10]. The need to cross borders for financial stability opens sex workers to the dangers of
human trafficking as women enter a country where they are undocumented workers and
susceptible to exploitation. Based on these conditions of economic vulnerability, it might be logical
to assert there is an increasing prevalence of outgoing trafficking in all sectors, not just sex
trafficking.

4. What are the current national laws against human trafficking in this country and how have they
been assessed by legal experts (e.g. by the U.N., the U.S. Dept of State TIP Report, and/or the
Protection Project)?

Venezuela is ranked on the third tier in the US 2016 TIP Report because, The Government of
Venezuela does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not
making significant efforts to do so [8]. The government does not report anti-trafficking efforts, so
it was difficult for the US to assess progress in anti-trafficking in their report. It is known that at
least one trafficking case has been investigated, but no known convictions have been brought [8].

Despite this low TIP ranking, Venezuela has laws on the books aimed at combatting human that
have seen improvements in recent years. In 2007, Ley Orgnica sobre el Derecho de las Mujeres a
una Vida Libre de Violencia (Organic Law on the Right of Women to a Violence-Free Life) was
enacted in recognition of violence against women and gender inequality [1]. Article 56 of the law
prohibits the trafficking of women, girls, and adolescents for purposes of sexual exploitation,
prostitution, forced labor, or slavery, and prescribes punishments of 15 to 20 years' imprisonment.
Articles 46 and 47 of the new law prohibit forced prostitution and sexual slavery and carry
penalties of 15 to 20 years' imprisonment [1]. This law seems well intentioned and supplies heavy
penalties to offenders, but is lacking. According to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada,
a budget was announced to aid in implementation of the law, but no implementation plans were
ever presented [1, 4]. Additionally, this statue does not address trafficking in men and boys [1].
The Venezuelan National Institute for Women (INAMUJER) was supposed to start training of
judicial personnel to staff up to 92 courts aimed at processing sexual violence cases, but it is
unlikely they have enough funding to carry out these duties [1]. It turned out the Supreme Court of
Justice (Tribunal Supremo de Justicia, TSJ) would only be setting up seven of the proposed 92 [1].

This lack of political infrastructure and financial resources that has caused a failed implementation
of this law is a contributing reason to Venezuelas low TIP Report ranking. Since the country does
not do a sufficient job of tracking incidences of human trafficking, it is clear their national laws are
far from addressing the serious problems within the country.

5. Which types of anti-trafficking efforts by which types of actors are evident in this country? (along
with a general summary, provide brief descriptions and URLs of 2-3 noteworthy examples)

There is not much being done to combat human trafficking within Venezuela. Human trafficking is
a symptom of the current state of the political system, economic breakdown, extreme inflation and
emerging humanitarian crisis stemming from a broken democracy and autocratic government rule,
and will improve when the larger problems are addressed. As it currently stands, the Venezuelan
government is trying to combat human trafficking through Ley Orgnica sobre el Derecho de las
Mujeres a una Vida Libre de Violencia, but did not address a way forward in terms of
implementation. INAMUJER attempted implementation but lacked the financial resources to do so

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 [1]. It can even be argued this law is more focused around sexual violence and domestic abuse, not
human trafficking. Clearly, the law is not sufficient to make real changes.

A manuscript of the law in Spanish can be found here:

http://oig.cepal.org/sites/default/files/2014_ven_feminicidio_ley_organica_sobre_derecho_de_muj
eres_a_una_vida_libre_de_violencia_25_11_14-1.pdf

In addition, it can be argued that the United States is trying to put pressure on Venezuela to combat
human trafficking through the TIP report. Since Venezuela is on Tier 3 of the TIP report, they can
be subject to economic sanctions by the US government, but the possible effect of these is
unknown given Venezuelas current political state.

A manuscript of the 2016 TIP Narrative on Venezuela can be found here:

https://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2016/258891.htm

Other than that, Venezuela has foundational problems centered on corruptions that have put the
countrys people in survival mode: attempting to make enough money to live and find food in a
place ravaged by inflation and government-controlled food supply. Online information shows
NGOs have made contributions to reports such as the TIP, but I could not find evidence of anti-
trafficking work in action in Venezuela [4, 8].

6. What are the main obstacles to anti-trafficking efforts within this country and/or of this countrys
citizens internationally?

The main obstacle to Venezuela combating human trafficking is the state of the economic
opportunities available to citizens. There are major foundational problems within the country due
to corruption and government control that have made the quality of life for Venezuelans decrease
substantially. When citizens cannot make enough money to put food on the table, or even find food
in the grocery stores, they become vulnerable to any form of economic opportunity that comes
their way, even if that means becoming trafficked.

Political, economic, and social instability and injustices have contributed to the inability of the
government to combat human trafficking [1]. Efforts have consisted of laws that were never
implemented, and when the rule of law is corrupt anyway, the effort is rendered useless. Venezuela
needs to stabilize its economy and control inflation so citizens can make a living and have an
alternative to the horrors of human trafficking. After that, Venezuela needs to set up infrastructure
to handle human trafficking cases and establish credibility in its justice system to implement laws
and address these horrible humanitarian offenses.

7. References

1. Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Venezuela: Implementation and

effectiveness of the 2007 Organic Law on the Right of Women to a Life Free of Violence, 3
April 2008, VEN102784.E, available at:
http://www.refworld.org/docid/49b92b1cc.html [accessed 13 May 2017].

2."Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - Venezuela." United States Department of
Labor. US Department of Labor, 30 Sept. 2016. Web. 13 May 20171. "Human Trafficking in
Venezuela." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 01 May 2017. Web. 13 May 2017.

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 3."Human Trafficking in Trinidad and Tobago." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 May
2017. Web. 13 May 2017.

4. Human Trafficking in Venezuela." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 01 May 2017. Web.

13 May 2017.

5. Jones, Sam. "Illegal Gold Mining Drives Human Rights Abuses in Latin America, Claims
Study." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 07 Apr. 2016. Web. 13 May 2017.

6. "Prostitution in Venezuela." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 07 May 2017. Web. 13 May

2017.

7. Trafficking in Persons Report." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 May 2017. Web. 13

May 2017.

8. "Trafficking In Persons Report Country Narrative: Venezuela." U.S. Department of State.

U.S. Department of State, June 2016. Web. 13 May 2017.

9. "Venezuela's Crisis Spills over." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 11 May 2017.
Web. 12 May 2017.

10. "Venezuela's Economic Crisis Is Forcing More and More Women Into Prostitution."
LATINA. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2017.

Note: There are 8 sections, but I did not number What country are you studying? so my numbering
system stops at 7.