2023 Trafficking in Persons Report: Colombia
Security Theme
Human Security
Keywords
Traffickersm, forced labor, illegal armed groups, debts, economic vulnerabilities, debt bondage
Description
As reported over the past five years, human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Colombia, and traffickers exploit victims from Colombia abroad. Traffickers exploit or have exploited Colombian nationals in at least 28 countries, including Argentina, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, the People’s Republic of China, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Poland, Sint Maarten, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates, mainly Dubai. Traffickers lure victims with fraudulent employment opportunities to later exploit them in sex trafficking and forced labor. In 2022, 36 percent of victims in domestic trafficking cases were from Bogotá and Antioquia Department, and 59 percent of victims were identified in Bogotá, Antioquia, and Norte de Santander. Government reports indicate 95 percent of victims identified in Colombia were adults, 74 percent were victims of sex trafficking, 16 percent were victims of forced labor, and 32 percent were Venezuelan nationals. Groups at high risk for trafficking include Venezuelans, LGBTQI+ individuals, Afro-Colombians, members of Indigenous groups, individuals with disabilities, migrants, including those traveling north with intentions to cross the Darien, IDPs, and those living in areas with active illegal armed groups and criminal organizations. The nearly 2.5 million Venezuelans living in Colombia, of which 90 percent were believed to be working in the informal sector, were at high risk for sex and labor trafficking. A seven-month investigative report uncovered cases of Venezuelan children in Cartagena being exploited in forced begging by family members and acquaintances. An international NGO interviewed 2,216 Venezuelan migrants who arrived in Colombia between 2019 and 2021, of which 907 reported experiencing trafficking or exploitation – 324 of those in 2021. Venezuelan migrants in border cities working in the informal sector often used their daily earnings to cover the costs of pay-per-day rooms, or pagadiarios, and, when they could not pay, some owners allegedly exploited migrant tenants in forced criminality or sex trafficking as means for paying rent. Sex trafficking of Colombian women and girls was prevalent in the country, particularly in densely populated cities and areas with tourism and large extractive industries. Transgender Colombians and Colombian men in commercial sex are vulnerable to sex trafficking within Colombia and Europe. Traffickers recruit vulnerable women and girls, mostly Colombians and displaced Venezuelans, into “webcam modeling” – an unregulated industry that continues to grow. In some cases, traffickers drugged women and girls, employed fear and coercion tactics, and created situations of financial indebtedness and extortion to force victims to perform live streamed sex acts. Government officials and civil society organizations have expressed concern about the burgeoning webcam industry and its ties to sex trafficking. Traffickers exploit Colombian nationals in forced labor, mainly in mining to extract coal, alluvial gold, and emeralds; agriculture in coffee harvesting and palm production; begging in urban areas; and domestic service. Traffickers exploit Colombian children working in the informal sector and street vending in forced labor. In 2022, an international NGO indicated pagadiarios in Bogota were a gateway to the recruitment of victims by criminal groups, who often induced migrants to consume drugs to foster a dependency that would compel them into criminality. Traffickers operating fake charities offered shelter to vulnerable migrants to later exploit them in sex trafficking and forced criminality. Illegal armed groups, particularly in the departments of Cauca, Chocó, Córdoba, Nariño, and Norte de Santander forcibly recruit or use children, including Venezuelan, Indigenous, and Afro-Colombian youth, to serve as combatants and informants, to harvest illicit crops, and to exploit them in sex trafficking. In 2022, an international organization reported 77 percent of municipalities in Chocó department and 33 percent of municipalities in Nariño department were at high risk for child soldier recruitment, particularly Indigenous and Afro-Colombian children. According to an investigative report released in 2023, El Tren de Aragua – Venezuela’s most powerful criminal gang – and the National Liberation Army (ELN) operate sex trafficking networks in the border town of Villa del Rosario in the Norte de Santander department. These groups exploit Venezuelan migrants and internally displaced Colombians in sex trafficking and take advantage of economic vulnerabilities and subject them to debt bondage. According to sources, members of El Tren de Aragua gained the trust of their victims by housing them in pagadiarios in Colombia, providing them food, allowing them to incur daily debts, and, when they are unable to pay, exploiting them in sex trafficking. They allegedly marked women and girls behind their ears to prove ownership. El Tren de Aragua reportedly used the local transportation hub in Cúcuta to transfer victims of trafficking to other countries in the region, including Argentina, Ecuador, and Peru. In addition, they had “agents” who facilitated their operations in Bogota, Cali, Medellín, Pereira, and border cities. Several illegal armed groups, including ELN, Segunda Marquetalia, FARC-EP, and Clan del Golfo, are known to operate in areas where vulnerable people may be exploited in human trafficking and other illicit activities. Women, children, and adolescents who demilitarized and separated from illegal armed groups are vulnerable to trafficking.
2023 Trafficking in Persons Report: Colombia
As reported over the past five years, human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Colombia, and traffickers exploit victims from Colombia abroad. Traffickers exploit or have exploited Colombian nationals in at least 28 countries, including Argentina, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, the People’s Republic of China, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Poland, Sint Maarten, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates, mainly Dubai. Traffickers lure victims with fraudulent employment opportunities to later exploit them in sex trafficking and forced labor. In 2022, 36 percent of victims in domestic trafficking cases were from Bogotá and Antioquia Department, and 59 percent of victims were identified in Bogotá, Antioquia, and Norte de Santander. Government reports indicate 95 percent of victims identified in Colombia were adults, 74 percent were victims of sex trafficking, 16 percent were victims of forced labor, and 32 percent were Venezuelan nationals. Groups at high risk for trafficking include Venezuelans, LGBTQI+ individuals, Afro-Colombians, members of Indigenous groups, individuals with disabilities, migrants, including those traveling north with intentions to cross the Darien, IDPs, and those living in areas with active illegal armed groups and criminal organizations. The nearly 2.5 million Venezuelans living in Colombia, of which 90 percent were believed to be working in the informal sector, were at high risk for sex and labor trafficking. A seven-month investigative report uncovered cases of Venezuelan children in Cartagena being exploited in forced begging by family members and acquaintances. An international NGO interviewed 2,216 Venezuelan migrants who arrived in Colombia between 2019 and 2021, of which 907 reported experiencing trafficking or exploitation – 324 of those in 2021. Venezuelan migrants in border cities working in the informal sector often used their daily earnings to cover the costs of pay-per-day rooms, or pagadiarios, and, when they could not pay, some owners allegedly exploited migrant tenants in forced criminality or sex trafficking as means for paying rent. Sex trafficking of Colombian women and girls was prevalent in the country, particularly in densely populated cities and areas with tourism and large extractive industries. Transgender Colombians and Colombian men in commercial sex are vulnerable to sex trafficking within Colombia and Europe. Traffickers recruit vulnerable women and girls, mostly Colombians and displaced Venezuelans, into “webcam modeling” – an unregulated industry that continues to grow. In some cases, traffickers drugged women and girls, employed fear and coercion tactics, and created situations of financial indebtedness and extortion to force victims to perform live streamed sex acts. Government officials and civil society organizations have expressed concern about the burgeoning webcam industry and its ties to sex trafficking. Traffickers exploit Colombian nationals in forced labor, mainly in mining to extract coal, alluvial gold, and emeralds; agriculture in coffee harvesting and palm production; begging in urban areas; and domestic service. Traffickers exploit Colombian children working in the informal sector and street vending in forced labor. In 2022, an international NGO indicated pagadiarios in Bogota were a gateway to the recruitment of victims by criminal groups, who often induced migrants to consume drugs to foster a dependency that would compel them into criminality. Traffickers operating fake charities offered shelter to vulnerable migrants to later exploit them in sex trafficking and forced criminality. Illegal armed groups, particularly in the departments of Cauca, Chocó, Córdoba, Nariño, and Norte de Santander forcibly recruit or use children, including Venezuelan, Indigenous, and Afro-Colombian youth, to serve as combatants and informants, to harvest illicit crops, and to exploit them in sex trafficking. In 2022, an international organization reported 77 percent of municipalities in Chocó department and 33 percent of municipalities in Nariño department were at high risk for child soldier recruitment, particularly Indigenous and Afro-Colombian children. According to an investigative report released in 2023, El Tren de Aragua – Venezuela’s most powerful criminal gang – and the National Liberation Army (ELN) operate sex trafficking networks in the border town of Villa del Rosario in the Norte de Santander department. These groups exploit Venezuelan migrants and internally displaced Colombians in sex trafficking and take advantage of economic vulnerabilities and subject them to debt bondage. According to sources, members of El Tren de Aragua gained the trust of their victims by housing them in pagadiarios in Colombia, providing them food, allowing them to incur daily debts, and, when they are unable to pay, exploiting them in sex trafficking. They allegedly marked women and girls behind their ears to prove ownership. El Tren de Aragua reportedly used the local transportation hub in Cúcuta to transfer victims of trafficking to other countries in the region, including Argentina, Ecuador, and Peru. In addition, they had “agents” who facilitated their operations in Bogota, Cali, Medellín, Pereira, and border cities. Several illegal armed groups, including ELN, Segunda Marquetalia, FARC-EP, and Clan del Golfo, are known to operate in areas where vulnerable people may be exploited in human trafficking and other illicit activities. Women, children, and adolescents who demilitarized and separated from illegal armed groups are vulnerable to trafficking.