U.S. Rape Cases

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2011 DC Stop Human Slavery Walk and Rally

National Mall

Washington, DC

On Saturday, October 22, 2011, thousands will unite for the 2011 DC Stop Modern Slavery Walk on the National Mall to celebrate human rights, raise public awareness about human trafficking and raise funds for non-profits working to end the practice. The event includes a 5K walk around the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, resource fair, children's area, live music and luminary speakers, including survivors of trafficking. Last year's walk attracted over 2,000 walkers and raised over $100,000.

At the 2010 march and rally, Libertad Latina provided the only info table among those of 30 or so NGOs to address the Latina, Afro-descendent & indigneous aspects of the human trafficking issue.

For 2011, we are glad to see that vetern Latin@ legal services NGO Ayuda, Inc. is a co-sponsor of this important event.

For those who can attend, We look forward to meeting you there!

Chuck Goolsby

LibertadLatina

See also:

Ayuda Seeks Supporters for Walk to Stop Modern Slavery

Ayuda, Inc., a provider of legal and social assistance for low–income immigrants in the Washington metropolitan area, is looking for supporters to participate in the 2011 DC Stop Modern Slavery Walk taking place on October 22 at the National Mall.

Ayuda will cosponsor the event, which will include a 5–kilometer walk, an anti–trafficking resource fair, guest speakers, and live music.

Human trafficking is an issue that Ayuda regularly addresses. Through legal and social services, the organization has helped hundreds of men, women, and children who have been enslaved in the United States.

Those wanting to participate can do so by either joining Team Ayuda on the walk (the team will have at least 25 walkers) or making a donation online. Ayuda will receive 80 percent of all funds raised.

For more information, contact Casey Tyler at 202-387-4848, or casey@ayuda.com, or visit DC Stop Modern Slavery Walk.

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Reference

Indigenous and Latina Women & Children's Human Rights News from the Americas

U.S. Immigrant Women and Children at Risk

U.S. Harassment and Rape Case Profiles

A Snapshot of Cases - 2003-2005

Latino Adult & Child Sexual Harassment, Abuse and Rape Cases in the U.S.

A crisis of rape with impunity exists in the U.S. Latin American immigrant community.

About rape in the Latin American immigrant community.

First, it is important to recognize that men of all races and ethnicities perpetrate rape in the U.S. The U.S. faces a serious crisis of sexual assault from all types of men.

Within that context, the following reports are designed to help our communities begin an honest conversation about how impunity in sexual assault in Latin America has migrated into the United States, where some men expect that their 'traditions' of rape without protest in their home countries can continue uncontested in the U.S. That cannot ever become the case.

As we state in our "About Us" page:

LibertadLatina seeks to begin a dialog on these critical issues by involving people of all ethnicities, Latino and indigenous communities throughout the Americas, young people, elders, advocates, social service and medical professionals, law enforcement, legislators, international and national governmental organizations and academics.
Through a compassionate approach we can join together to light a path for our people out of this crisis. Responding to this emergency will take cross-cultural cooperation, empathy, and a respect for the sacredness of all voluntary human relationships.

The motivations behind the use of rape with impunity in the Latin American immigrant community are complex. It is likely not fair to assert that most immigrant men engage in the use of sexual assault and rape. But a problem does exist. Within the United States that crisis is often hidden.

Hundreds of thousands if not millions of minor girls and adult women are sexually assaulted and enslaved with impunity throughout Latin America, as the LibertadLatina web site clearly documents. It is reasonable to expect that men who exploit women and girls in Latin America will continue to do so in the United States. Will a man who develops a sexual 'taste' for 10 year old girls in Latin America change once he enters the U.S.A.? Not likely.

The San Diego County, california 'child rape camps' case is the most severe example of this reality. Latin immigrant communities across the U.S also face these harsh issues.

What is surprising in the U.S. is the open use of impunity. Both the public and the legal system in the U.S. assume that most adult men will not act with criminal impunity towards women and girls. Yet, impunity is widely used by some immigrant men who come from societies where brazen sexual assault and rape are legally acceptable.

The sexist philosophy of machismo that gives social 'permission' for its most ardent followers to sexually exploit women and girls, is as active in the U.S. as it is across Latin America. Machismo legitimizes the use of impunity.

UNICEF's assessment of the impact of impunity:

Society’s silence is the main accomplice in allowing widespread impunity. Latin America and the Caribbean face enormous challenges in the prelude to the twenty-first century. The region will have to bring out into the open this increasingly disturbing reality; and it will have to struggle against the high degree to which society tolerates or practices inconceivable forms of aggression against the most vulnerable individuals in society. In commemorating International Women’s Day, Executive Director of UNICEF Carol Bellamy said that "it is everywhere, among rich and poor -- at home, in school, in the workplace and in the community. Yet on the eve of the 21st century, the vast scale of this outrage is still not widely acknowledged, nor even truly understood".

and...

...Recent studies indicate that no less than six million children and adolescents in Latin America and the Caribbean are subjected to severe aggression, and that 80,000 of these die each year as a result of violence unleashed in their own families. Sexual harassment, maltreatment, child labour, violence in the home and sexual exploitation occur with such frequency that they can be considered a daily phenomenon...

UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy

- 1999 International Women's Day Speech

The author has confronted this impunity in many diverse situations over a 25 year period in the greater Washington, DC region. Machismo's impunity, so common in Latin America, remains an active philosophy among some immigrant men in the U.S. That impunity manifests itself through daily acts of severe sexual harassment and worse.

A similar reality applies to many non-Latin immigrant men. (Latina women in the U.S. today face increasing conflict with non-Latino immigrant men, especially in low-wage workplaces where they are often 'managed' by these men.)

Some, in the interest of avoiding even more racism and discrimination targeted at immigrant men in the U.S., think that it is unjust to speak up openly about these issues.

What would be truly unjust would be to remain silent, pretend that a problem does not exist, and continue to allow women and children to be victimized with impunity.

The LibertadLatina web site exists to help end the 'code of silence' once and for all. While most readers of this site go to bed in safety and peace each night, women and girls throughout the Latin American and indigenous worlds in the Americas face forceable rape and forced prostitution by the hundreds of thousands if not millions. Under these circumstances, we at LibertadLatina will never be silent!

End impunity now!

- Chuck Goolsby

LibertadLatina.org

November 28, 2004

From: Advocacy e-Mail Newsletters 1998-2001

Chuck Goolsby

Subject: On the exploitation of minors in Latino communities (a dialog on the issues)

December 8, 1999

Comments of a Latino community activist:

...I congratulate Chuck for bringing up this subject and applaud V. for spotlighting some of the most-viable causes of the problem. From the male perspective I would only add that we live in a Euro-centric society which (because of its desire for cheap labor) "brings" Latino males into an emasculating situation, where rape becomes one of the few avenues left for proof of "manhood".

Additional Reading:

Lira, L. R., Koss, M. P., & Russo, N. F. (1999). Mexican American Women's Definitions of Rape and Sexual Abuse. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 21(3), 236-265.

This paper addresses the concept of rape from the perspective of Mexican American immigrant women living in America. It begins with an overview of cultural meanings of rape and sexual abuse and the impact thereof within an appreciation of cultural differences affected by religious norms, images of women, and notions of sexuality among Latinas.

The study presented in this paper involved 17 Mexican American women living in Arizona who participated in four focus groups. Their discussions focused on issues pertaining to unwanted sexual contact. Definitions elicited from these discussions included notions of "rapto," "violacion,” and "abuso sexual." Furthermore, the women discussed child rape and abuse, adult rape and abuse, the causes of rape, wife rape, the causes of wife rape, and ultimately, the silence of victims.

The intermingling of traditional and modern meanings of such concepts should not be underestimated nor easily overlooked when addressing the issue of rape among Latinas. Research, prevention, intervention, and treatment programs must therefore be sensitive toward culturally appropriate approaches to this issue and must be mindful of the language used to express the various experiences and perceptions in order to gage an accurate assessment of the prevalence of rape among Latinas.

Due to the significance of silence and the rape experiences reported by the participants, it is very likely that underreporting is a grave reality among Latinas.

'Silence' is also Violence

Added July 03 2005

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) Actions in June, 2005:

I.C.E. Activity in June, 2005.

Most Cases Listed are Deportations:

Albery - Bahamas: Attempted Sexual Battery, Other Charges.

Flores, Mexico: Aggravated Battery on a Pregnant Victim.

Gopaul - Trinidad and Tobago: Illegal Re-Enty After Sexual Assualt Conviction.

Henriques - Portugal: Assault of a Child Under 14 with Intent to Rape.

Lobaton-Mazuelos, Peru: Conviction for Stalking an Elderly Woman.

Lopez-Paulino, Dominican Republic: Committing Lascivious Acts Involving a Mentally Handicapped 12 Year-Old Child.

Macias - Mexico: 2nd Degree Indecency with 8 Year Old Girl.

Marcovici - Ecuador: 3 Counts of Lewd and Lascivious Battery on a Minor Under 12 Years Old.

Martinez-Gonzalez - Mexico: Lewd and Lascivious Acts Against 14-year-old.

Ortiz-Graulau - Puerto Rico (U.S. Citizen) - Attempted to Develop Film of Child Pornography at Department Store.

Pena-Echevarria, El Salvador: Rape of a Girl, Age 12.

Perez - Mexico: Abduction of a 12 Year Old Girl.

Reyes-Valdivieso, Venezula: Fondling a 13 Year Old Girl.

Saldarriaga-Escobar Colombia: Sexual Assault on Minor Under Age 11.

Sanchez and Contreras, Smugglers from Mexico, Pled Guilty in Case where an 18 Year Old Guatemalan Woman was Held Hostage.

The following is a sample of sexual indecency, sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape cases in the United States that have a Latin American community connection.

Cases from Arizona

Cases from California

Cases from Connecticut

Cases from Florida

Cases from Montgomery County, Maryland

Cases from Washington DC's Virginia Suburbs

Cases from New York State

Cases from Oklahoma

Cases from Oregon

Cases from Arizona

Alleged Youth Rape Case Octavio Luis Perez 11-26-2004

Youth Rape Case Mark Barreras 11-22-2004

Rape Case Steven Michael Cabrera 11-13-2004

Rape Murder Case Angel Maora Medrano 09-04-2003

Rape Murder Case Samuel Villegas Lopez 09-04-2003

Child Rape Case Father Saul Madrid 07-22-2003

Cases from California

Alleged Rape Carlos Bermeduz 11-29-2004 (Added 12-05-2004)

Rape Case Antonio Verzosa 11-26-2004 (Added 12-05-2004)

Youth Rape Case Heriberto Mojica-Mendoza 10-07-2004

Child Rape Case David Montiel Cruz 09-21-2004

Attempted Rape Case Crescenciano Miranda Chavez 07-22-2004

Child Sexual Assault Case Police Hunt Unknown Man Who Fondled 12 Year Old Girl 06-06-2004

Child Sexual Assault Cases Unknown Suspect Aptos, California 05-29-2004

Child Molestation Unknown Suspect 05-28-2004

Youth Rape Case Rene Mora and Manuel DeAnda 04-30-2004

Rape Case Three Unknown Suspects 02-25-2004

Youth Sexual Assault Case Jesus Rivera 02-04-2004

Child Rape Case Arvin CA Mayor Juan Olivares 2004

Elderly Rape Case Rogelio Roy Trejo 11-08-2003

Child Kidnap-Rape Case Enrique Alvarez 09-03-2003

Elderly Rape Case Michael Gonzalez 07-23-2003

Cases from Connecticut

Child Abduction of 10 year old Blanca Lebron

Cases from Florida

Child & Eldery Serial Rapist Reynaldo Elias Rapalo 09-23-2003

Cases from Montgomery County, Maryland

Rapist Stalks Young Teen Girls Walking Home from School in Montgomery County, Maryland - 11-25-2004

Nov. 1, 2004 Ernesto Alexander Bonilla, 21, of the 10100 block of Ridgeline Drive in Montgomery Village, was arrested and charged with second-degree rape after an incident in September in Gaithersburg. (From http://www.Gazette.net)

Sept. 21, 2004 - Indecent exposure arrest - Elder Francisco Andrade Moya, 25, of the 8500 block of Grubb Road in Silver Spring was charged with indecent exposure for an incident that allegedly occurred in the 4800 block of Bethesda Avenue. (From http://www.Gazette.net)

Sept. 4, 2004 at 1:34 a.m.: Peeping tom - A suspect (Hispanic male, 19-20, average build, wearing dark-colored baseball hat, black/cream windbreaker) looked in a bedroom window of a residence in the 3700 block of Bel Pre Road in Aspen Hill. The victim screamed and the suspect ran towards the woods. (From http://www.Gazette.net)

Attempted Rape Case Profile Hyattsville Victim 08-15-2004

Rape Case Profile Man Rapes 44 Year Old Woman 08-11-2004

August 7, 2004 At 3:30 a.m.: Peeping Tom - A 24-year-old Bethesda woman and her father were sitting in their home when they noticed a suspect peering into a window. The suspect ran away after the victims banged on the window.

The suspect was described as a Hispanic male, 20 to 25, 5 feet 6 inches tall, 150 pounds, wearing a striped Polo type shirt and jeans. (From http://www.Gazette.net)

July 27, 2004 - Indecent exposure: A man exposed himself to a 21-year-old Wheaton woman about 8:30 a.m. as she was leaving her apartment in the 3200 block of Weeping Willow Court. The man, who was Hispanic, 30 years old, 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighed 190 pounds, and wore a green T-shirt and black long pants, then ran away in an unknown direction. (From http://www.Gazette.net)

July 27, 2004 - Fourth-degree sex offense - A man inappropriately touched a 14-year-old Silver Spring girl 11:30 p.m. as she was using a pay phone in the 12400 block of Georgia Avenue. The victim said the man appeared intoxicated, and walked up to her and slid his hand down her body. The victim told him to go away and he was last seen walking towards the Glenmont Metro station. The man was Hispanic, in his late 30s, 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighed 160 pounds, had short black hair, and wore blue jeans, a white shirt and black shoes, and carried a checkered shirt. (From http://www.Gazette.net)

July 23, 2004 - Indecent exposure - Police are looking for a man who witnesses said was seen 8:30 p.m. July 22 looking into a window of a residence in the 3200 block of Whispering Pines Drive and masturbating. He ran toward Whispering Pines Drive after witnesses yelled at him. The man was Hispanic, 25 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 210 pounds had short black hair and was wearing a yellow T-shirt and white shorts. Witnesses reported the incident 5:23 p.m. July 23. (From http://www.Gazette.net)

Rape Case Profile Sligo Park Rapist 06-16-2004

March 22, 2004 - A 35-year-old woman from Silver Spring said two men knocked on the door of her apartment in the 500 block of Domer Avenue. She was taken to a bedroom and raped by one of the men, described as possibly Hispanic male 24-28 years old, 5-foot-7, medium build. Second suspect: possibly Hispanic male, approximately 27 years old, 5-foot-7, medium length black hair, and small black mole over right corner of his mouth. (From http://www.Gazette.net)

August, September 2003 - Gaithersburg, Maryland - LibertadLatina Direct advocacy assists Latina woman victim of attempted street sexual assault in Gaithersburg, Maryland. One of three assailants was convicted.

Youth Rape Case Profile Dentist Dr David Fuster 05-21-2003

'Maryland Judge Ready to 'Fight Back' - in Case of His Reversal of a Rape Conviction Against an Adult Abuser of an 11 Year old Latina Girl. (The Washington Post)

(Same Case) 'Rape Case Profile Vladimir Chacon-Bonilla 01-06-2000

Cases from New York State

In Suffolk County 26-year-old Faustino Chavez was sentenced to 22 years to life in prison for the murder of Vinessa Hoera. The 23-year-old single mother vanished on the evening of February 27, 2004. Police found her body six weeks later, with fatal knife wounds to her neck, in low-lying brush near a Westhampton soccer field.

Chavez admitted in his guilty plea on February 15 that he raped the victim in her car at knifepoint, and later cut her throat several times before hiding her body.

A 25-year-old Central Islip man, landscaper Jose S. Mendoza faces up to 40 years in prison for the sodomy and sexual abuse of a five-year-old girl - 12-14-2004.

Cases from Oklahoma

Rape Murder Case Anthony Sanchez 09-12-2004 (CBS 60 Minutes)

Cases from Oregon

Rape Murder Case M Cilerio Esparza 09-03-2002

Cases from Washington DC's Virginia Suburbs

11/20/04, at 2000hrs - SEXUAL BATTERY - 1000 block of N. Stafford St. The victim, an 18yo female, was walking when an unknown subject approached the victim from behind and grabbed her crotch. Responding officers located the subject. After further investigation, Carlos Hernandez-Cardona, 35, of Arlington was arrested and charged with sexual battery. He currently is being held without bond in the Arlington County Detention Facility. (From Arlington County, Virginia Crime Reports)

May 1, 2004 t 0249hrs - PEEPING TOM, 4100 block of N. 3rd Rd., The victim, a 41yo female, was inside her apartment when she heard a loud noise outside her window. Upon looking outside the window, the victim observed a male dressed in dark clothing looking in the window. Responding officers located a subject matching the description. After further investigation, the subject, Carlos Noel Reyes, 19, of the 400 block of N. Thomas St., was arrested and charged with peeping. (From Arlington County, Virginia Crime Reports)

9/07/03 at 1620hrs - ATTEMPT ABDUCTION 9/7/2003, 4000 block S. Four Mile Run Dr., The victim, a three year old female was approached by an unknown subject who grabbed her arm and told her to come with him. When family intervened the subject fled in a vehicle. The subject is described as a Hispanic male, 30 years old, 5’5”, and 160lbs, short hair, wearing khaki pants and a red shirt. The vehicle is described as a blue Ford Explorer with Virginia tags. The investigation is ongoing. (From Arlington County, Virginia Crime Reports)

08/02/2004 at about 0115hrs - SEXUAL BATTERY 8/2/2003, 1900 Block N. Highland St., The victim, a 29 year old female, was walking home from a local establishment when a Hispanic male began following her in his black vehicle. A short distance later, the subject exited his vehicle and grabbed the victim by her buttocks and arms. She was able to run home to safety. The subject is described as a Hispanic male wearing blue jeans and a black T-shirt. (From Arlington County, Virginia Crime Reports)

Rape Case Marcos A Capriles 09-1995

See also on LibertadLatina.org:

LibertadLatina

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Added Oct. 02, 2011

Mexico

Darío Lara Lara (left) and Abimail Muñoz Cotilla

Prostituían a mujeres en antros y hotels

Las llevaban por todo el país para explotarlas

La Procuraduría capitalina detuvo a dos personas acusadas de privar de la libertad a dos mujeres, una de ellas menor de edad, para explotarlas sexualmente, burdeles, cantinas y hoteles de la Ciudad de México, Baja California, Morelos, Puebla y Veracruz.

Darío Lara Lara y Abimail Muñoz Cotilla, esposo de la denunciante quienes, fueron consignados.

Entre los detenidos se encuentra el marido de una de las denunciantes. Ambos sujetos fueron capturados en el estado de Tlaxcala. En conferencia de prensa, el doctor Miguel Ángel Mancera Espinosa informó que los imputados son Darío Lara Lara y Abimail Muñoz Cotilla, esposo de la denunciante quienes en su momento quedarán a disposición del Juez Penal 32, como probables responsables de los delitos de trata de personas, privación de la libertad y delincuencia organizada.

Consta en el expediente que el 30 de agosto pasado, la víctima logró escapar del hotel donde la mantenían privada de la libertad y solicitó ayuda de elementos de la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública del Distrito Federal. Fue canalizada a la Fiscalía Central de Investigación para la Atención de Delitos Sexuales.

Al rendir declaración ministerial, una de las víctimas señaló que a finales de mayo de este año cuando regresaba de su trabajo y al descender del transporte público en Panzacola, Tlaxcala, dos sujetos la obligaron a subir a una camioneta negra, para llevarla hacia una vivienda, donde la tuvieron encerrada ocho días y fue agredida sexualmente por Darío Lara.

Por todo el país

Posteriormente, la llevaron a un bar en Izúcar de Matamoros, Puebla, donde la obligaron a prostituirse; de ahí la condujeron hacia otro establecimiento en Poza Rica, Veracruz, y cuando se negaba a brindar sexoservicio era golpeada y le quemaban las piernas y espalda con cigarros. En esos lugares, dijo la afectada, otras mujeres eran también obligadas a brindar sexoservicio y conoció a una menor de 16 años.

También la llevaron a la ciudad de Campeche, Campeche, donde había varias jóvenes, entre ellas una menor de 11 años, y que hacían fiestas para sujetos que llegaban armados; que en una ocasión la agraviada se percató que a dos chicas, una de ellas era la menor de 16 años, una mujer conocida como "La Mami" les ordenó y enseñó cómo introducir droga en sus partes íntimas con un tampón.

Las trajeron después a la capital del país, donde seguían siendo prostituidas en un hotel de la zona de La Merced. Huyeron a Tijuana, Baja California, por el despliegue policíaco derivado de un operativo en la zona. A esa ciudad fronteriza arribó su esposo Abimail Muñoz Ocotitla, quien después de agredirla verbalmente fue a conversar con Darío Lara.

Homicidio

La denunciante manifestó que al estar todavía en Tijuana, los probables responsables llevaron a siete chicas para intentar internarlas a Estados Unidos, pero cuando la menor pretendió huir, Darío Lara Lara la mató de un balazo. Su cuerpo lo abandonaron en un terreno baldío.

De ahí un bar de Cuautla, Morelos, los inculpados y sus víctimas tuvieron que huir porque sujeto armados los balearon a consecuencia de la venta de droga que realizaban, por lo que a bordo de una camioneta llegaron a un hotel del sur del Distrito Federal de donde la denunciante huyó cuando sus captores se encontraban bajo los influjos de enervantes.

La afectada proporcionó información al Ministerio Público para investigar la trata de personas en agravio de mujeres, entre ellas menores de edad, que son explotadas sexualmente, por lo que solicitó medida cautelar de arraigo en contra los inculpados.

Con la denuncia de las víctimas y oficio de colaboración con autoridades ministeriales del estado de Tlaxcala, Darío Lara Lara y Abimail Muñoz Ocotitla fueron detenidos por agentes de la Policía de Investigación y sujetos a investigación en el Centro de Arraigo de la PGJDF, bajo pronunciamiento del Juez 32 Penal; se ejercitará acción penal contra los dos inculpados, en agravio de ambas víctimas.

Trafficking victims were prostituted in clubs and hotels

The enslavers trafficked their victims across Mexico

The Mexico City Attorney General’s Office has arrested two men who are accused of holding a woman and a minor youth against their will, and then sexually exploiting them in brothels, bars and hotels in Mexico City and the states of Baja California, Morelos, Puebla and Veracruz.

The suspects were placed in pre-trial detention.

Both subjects were arrested in the state of Tlaxcala. At a press conference, Mexico City Attorney General Dr. Miguel Ángel Mancera Espinosa reported that the suspects are Darío Lara Lara and Abimail Muñoz Cotilla, who is the husband of one of the complainants. They will be turned over to Criminal Court #32 for trial. They are charged with the crimes of human trafficking, deprivation of liberty and organized crime.

The record shows that on August 30, 2011, one of the victims managed to escape the hotel where she was then being enslaved. She requested help from Mexico City’s Ministry of Public Security. The case was forwarded to the Sex Crimes Investigations section of the city Attorney General’s Office.

During a formal declaration one of the victims stated that in May of 2011 she was returning from work when, as she stepped-off of a public bus in the city of Panzacola, Tlaxcala, two men forced her into a black SUV. They took her to a house where she was imprisoned for eight days. There, she was sexually assaulted by Dario Lara.

Taken across Mexico

The victim was later taken to a bar in the city of Izucar de Matamoros, in Puebla state, where she was forced into prostitution. She was then taken to another location in the city of Poza Rica, in Veracruz state. When she refused to prostitute herself, she was beaten and her back and legs were burned with cigarettes. This victim testified that she met other women who were forced into prostitution at these locations. One of them was a 16-year-old girl.

This woman was also taken to the city of Campeche, in Campeche state, where she witnessed the fact that several minors, including an 11-year-old girl, [were also being forced into prostitution]. At that location, parties were held for men who arrived carrying weapons. She once observed that two girls, one of whom was less than 16 years were forced by a woman who went by the name of ‘Mami’ to introduce drugs into themselves through the insertion of tampons.

The victims were brought to Mexico City, where they were again prostituted in a hotle located in the city’s La Merced [prostitution tolerance zone]. The traffickers later took the victims and fled the [recent, anti trafficking] heavy police deployment in the area. They were taken to the city of Tijuana, in Baja California, state. The victim’s husband, Abimail Muñoz Ocotitla, then arrived in Tijuana and verbally assaulted her. He then went to talk to Dario Lara.

Murder

The complainant said that while she was in Tijuana, the alleged traffickers brought seven girls to try to enslave the in the United States. When the underage girl in the group attempted to flee, Darío Lara Lara killed her with a single shot. Her body was abandoned in a vacant lot.

From there, the traffickers and their victims were taken to the city of Cuautla, in Morelos state. The group had to flee the area after rivals shot at them as the straffickers attempted to sell illicit drugs.

The group then arrived in the southern section of Mexico City. At that point, the complainant fled while her captors were under the influence of drugs.

The victim supplied detailed information to the City Attorney General’s human trafficking investigations office. The suspects were investigated for crimes against their adult and minor victims. As a result, prosecutors requested pre-trail detention for the suspects.

Having obtained the statements of the victims and the coorperation of the Tlaxcala state authorities, Darío Muñoz Lara Lara and Abimail Ocotitla were arrested by police investigators and were interrogated in the arraignment center of the Mexico City Attorney General’s office. They will be tried by the 32^nd Judge of the Criminal Court for crimes committed against the two [known] complainants.

Tomás Rojas Madrid

Impacto

Sep. 2011

Added Oct. 02, 2011

Mexico

Congressional Deputy Rosi Orozco, President of the Special Commission to Combat Trafficking in Persons in the Chamber of Deputies, sits at the speakers table as El Universal newspaper publisher Juan Francisco Ealy Ortiz, announce that his paper, one of Mexico City's two largest dailies, will end sexual services advertizing on its pages. From a story published on Sep. 20, 2011

Hay avance en combate al delito de trata de personas, afirma Rosi Orozco

México, Distrito Federal - La presidenta de la Comisión Especial de Lucha contra la Trata de Personas, Rosi Orozco, del grupo parlamentario del PAN, presentó la revista “México Social” y comentó que comienza a avanzar el combate a la impunidad de este delito como resultado de la serie de reformas que se han impulsado.

No obstante, la legisladora manifestó que es necesario brindar mayor certeza jurídica a la población, por lo que urgió aprobar la Ley General para Prevenir, Sancionar y Erradicar la Trata de Personas y Delitos Relacionados.

Comentó que estas publicaciones mensuales contribuirán a mantener a la sociedad informada sobre los temas de trata de personas y violación a los derechos humanos, de manera que las víctimas se animen a denunciar ante las autoridades para erradicar el problema que cada vez se hace más evidente.

Recordó que el tres de agosto se propuso ante el Pleno de la Comisión Permanente del Congreso de la Unión, la Ley General para Prevenir, Sancionar y Erradicar la Trata de Personas y delitos relacionados, a fin de solventar los problemas en la materia para la procuración de justicia.

Explicó que dicha ley tiene como objetivo establecer definiciones claras y armonizar el marco jurídico nacional en materia de trata de personas y los compromisos internacional de los que el país forma parte.

“Es importante atender el problema de trata de personas de manera interna y no sólo los compromisos internacionales del país en materia de derechos de las víctimas nacionales y extranjeras”, dijo.

En su intervención, el director de la revista “México Social”, Mario Luis Fuentes, consideró que parte de la erradicación del problema es hacerlo visible, por lo que el tema de trata de personas será analizado y plasmado en estas ediciones mensuales.

“Este problema debe ser visible a los jóvenes que están en situaciones de riesgo, de ser víctimas para construir mecanismos de prevención, protección y reintegración de las víctimas una vez que han sido rescatadas”, dijo.

Mario Luis Fuentes señaló que el Estado debe reconocer que aún no cuenta con los elementos suficientes, ni con los diagnósticos que ayudarán a atacar el problema de trata, por lo que las fuentes de investigación deben ampliarse para conocer las dimensiones reales de las sociedades que se encuentran en alta vulnerabilidad.

Congressional anti-trafficking leader Deputy Rosi Orozco says that advances are being made in the fight against human trafficking

Mexico City - The president of the Special Commission for Combating Trafficking in Persons in the Chamber of Deputies [lower house of Congress], Deputy Rosi Orozco of the National Action Party (PAN), recently commented about advances that are being made in the fight against human trafficking in Mexico. She also introduced a new journal, "Social Mexico," that will cover human trafficking.

Deputy Orozco added that it will be necessary to provide greater legal certainties to the public [to demonstrate the government’s serious commitment to confront trafficking]. She urged Congressional members to approve the General Law on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Trafficking in Persons and Related Offences [a bill that has been awaiting passage during many months of impasse caused by opponents].

Orozco said that Social Mexico will be a monthly publication that will inform society about issues related to human trafficking and other human rights violations, and will encourage victims to report trafficking, which is an ever increasing problem.

The current anti-trafficking bill was presented to on August 3^rd, 2011 to a plenary session of the Permanent Committee of Congress, says Orozco. The General Law on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Trafficking in Persons and related crimes is designed to solve problems [that exist today] in anti-trafficking criminal enforcement.

Orozco explained that the law is designed to establish clear definitions [of activities that constitute trafficking] and will standardize the national legal framework to fight trafficking in persons and assure compliance with international protocols.

"It is important to address the problem of trafficking internally, and not just focus on the nation’s international responsibilities to protect foreign and domestic victims,” said Orozco.

Mario Luis Fuentes, director of Social Mexico, stated that he believes that part of the effort to eradicate human trafficking must involve giving the issue higher public visibility. Social Mexico will therefore cover human trafficking in-depth in its monthly issues.

"This problem must be made visible to the young people who are at risk of becoming. We must also build prevention mechanisms, design ways to protect those who are at risk and reintegrate victims into society,” said Fuentes.

Fuentes added that the State must recognize that it still does not have adequate information or studies to understand the dimensions of human trafficking in the nation. Therefore, institutions should increase their research efforts to understand the true dimensions of the situation facing vulnerable populations in Mexico.

El Observador Diario

Sep. 28, 2011

Added Oct. 02, 2011

Mexico

Detiene PGR a presunto tratante de personas en Tlaxcala

Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala.- Elementos de la Procuraduría General de la República detuvieron a Jorge Cuahutle Pérez, a quien apodaban “el Tlacuache y/o El Moreno”, presunto tratante de personas, con fines de prostitución.

En un comunicado, la PGR señaló que esta persona es señalada como responsable del delito de trata de personas y el aseguramiento se realizó en el municipio de Tenancingo.

Esta comunidad está ubicada al sur de esta capital y es señalada como un sitio donde se ubican redes de trata de personas.

La dependencia federal señaló que “de acuerdo con el expediente PGR/TLAX-AMPDC/475/2011, una mujer denunció a Cuahutle Pérez, señalando que mediante amenazas y haciendo uso de la violencia, el 12 de julio de 2011, la introdujo a su domicilio y la mantuvo por más de dos meses privada de su libertad”.

Sin embargo, el pasado 14 de septiembre, “la víctima logró escapar de su cautiverio y acudió al agente del Ministerio Público Federal a denunciar esta situación”.

Después de integrarse la averiguación previa respectiva, se realizó un operativo “para la detención de Cuahutle Pérez, en el centro de Tenancingo”.

La PGR indicó que al momento de su detención, “le fueron encontrados diversos paquetes conteniendo hierba verde al parecer marihuana, así como cocaína”.

“Al verse acorralado trató de ofrecerles a los elementos aprehensores, la cantidad de 60 mil pesos para evitar ser puesto a disposición de la autoridad federal”.

Es importante señalar que Jorge Cuahutle Pérez cuenta con antecedentes por el delito de lesiones y lenocinio en el estado de México y Tlaxcala, acotó la dependencia federal.

Indicó asimismo que a la víctima se le brindará protección en un albergue.

Federal agents arrest suspected human trafficker in Tlaxcala state

Tlaxcala city in Tlaxcala state - La enforcement agents from the federal attorney general’s office (PGR) have arrested Jorge Cuahutle Perez, who was nicknamed "the opossum and / or the dark one" on allegations of sex trafficking.

In a statement, the PGR said that Cuahutle Perez has been identified as having engaged in the crime of human trafficking. The suspect was arraigned in the city of Tenancingo.

Tenancingo is located south of the capital and is a known center for human trafficking networks.

The PGR related that a woman denounced Cuahutle Perez. The victim stated that on July 12, 2011, the suspect had taken her to his home and had deprived her of liberty by holding her there against her will for over two months through the use of threats and violence.

On Sep. 14, 2011 "the victim managed to escape from captivity and went to the Federal Prosecutor's Office to report the situation," stated officials of the PGR.

After conducting a preliminary investigation, authorities conducted an operation “to detain Cuahutle Perez in Tenancingo’s downtown area."

The PGR said that at the time of his arrest, "he was found with several packets that apparently contained… marijuana and cocaine."

"Finding himself cornered, Cuahutle Perez attempted to offer the arresting officers a bribe of 60,000 pesos to avoid federal detention."

Federal officials pointed out that Cuahutle Perez has a history of involvement in violent crimes and pimping in the states of Mexico and Tlaxcala.

His victim will be provided with protection in a shelter.

Notimex

Sep. 30, 2011

Added Oct. 01, 2011

Added Oct. 02, 2011

Paraguay, Argentina

El 80% de las víctimas de trata en Argentina son Paraguayas

Los gobiernos argentino y paraguayo fortalecerán la cooperación para combatir este flagelo. Se firmará un convenio con Migraciones por este tema.

Buenos Aires . Funcionarios y especialistas de Argentina y Paraguay se reunieron en Buenos Aires para fortalecer la cooperación entre ambos países con el fin de prevenir y combatir la trata de personas.

Durante la jornada organizada por la embajada paraguaya, Josefina Keim, coordinadora de Prevención y Combate de la Trata de la Cancillería de ese país, confirmó que una investigación argentina “asegura que el 80 por ciento de las mujeres explotadas en Argentina son paraguayas”. “Por eso nuestros países necesitan articular mejor el trabajo”, agregó.

Por su parte, la titular de la Dirección Nacional de Política Criminal de Argentina, calificó como “intenso” el trabajo que realizan ambos países en conjunto, en relación a este tema.

Explicó que se intercambia información con la fiscalía especializada en trata de Paraguay de forma tal que, “cuando se detecta el ingreso al país de una persona que manifiesta que va a un domicilio con antecedentes de allanamientos, se puede agilizar las actuaciones judiciales y avanzar en la investigación para evitar la explotación de esa persona”.

Adelantó que “se firmará un convenio con la Dirección Nacional de Migraciones para generar un mayor conocimiento de la problemática y utilizar toda la información de las distintas áreas del Estado, para lograr un trabajo coordinado”.

Por su parte, Ida González de Paredes, ministra de la embajada de Paraguay, explicó que la motivación para organizar el encuentro era “proteger a los connacionales”. “Estamos tratando de coordinar actividades y mejorar la comunicación con las instituciones competentes”, cerró.

En Madrid. La Policía española detuvo en Madrid al rumano Ion Clamparu, considerado uno de los mayores capos de la trata de blancas y presunto cabecilla de una red de explotación de prostitutas, cuyo nombre figura en la lista de los criminales más buscados de Interpol.

La detención de Clamparu, de 43 años y conocido como “cabeza de cerdo”, se produjo el pasado jueves, por agentes llevaban tiempo vigilándolo. Él mismo se entregó.

Eighty percent of sex trafficking victims in Argentina are Paraguayan

The governments of Argentina and Paraguay are strengthening their cooperation to better combat the scourge of modern slavery. Both nations will sign an accord on migration to address the issue.

Buenos Aires, Argentina - Officials and experts from Argentina and Paraguay recently met in Buenos Aires to strengthen cooperation between the two countries to prevent and combat trafficking.

During a conference organized by the Embassy of Paraguay, Josefina Keim, coordinator of preventing and fighting human trafficking within Paraguay’s Foreign Ministry, confirmed that an investigation conducted in Argentina "shows that 80 percent of the women who are [sexually] exploited in Argentina are Paraguayan." "For that reason, our two nations need to improve their efforts in this area," she said.

Paula Honisch, the head of the National Directorate of Criminal Policy in Argentina, noted that both nations are working “intensively” on the issue.

Honisch explained that Argentina exchanges information with Paraguayan prosecutors in such a manner that, “when a person enters Argentina stating that they plan to arrive at a location that the authorities have previously raised, judicial action can be quickly taken to avoid the exploitation of that persons.”

Honisch added that Paraguay "will sign an agreement with Argentina’s National Directorate of Migration to generate greater awareness of the problem and to bring together information from across state agencies to achieve a coordinated effort."

Ida Gonzalez de Paredes, Minister of the Embassy of Paraguay, said the purpose of the meeting was "to protect our co-nationals". "We're trying to coordinate activities and improve communication with the relevant institutions," she said.

EFE y Télam

Sep. 25, 2011

Added Oct. 01, 2011

Added Oct. 02, 2011

Mexico

1 millón de emigrantes con registros penales

Un total de 2.901 inmigrantes indocumentados, con antecedentes criminales, fueron arrestados en todo Estados Unidos. Se trata del mayor operativo policial, hasta la fecha, informó ayer la agencia de Aduanas e Inmigración (ICE).

La operación Verificación (Cross Check) se desarrolló en los 50 estados y territorios de ultramar del 17 al 23 de este mes.

De los detenidos, 1 282 tenían múltiples condenas, y más de 1.600 habían purgado penas por delitos como asaltos a mano armada, tentativa de asesinato, secuestro o narcotráfico, informó en rueda de prensa el director de la ICE, John Morton.

681 detenidos habían sido expulsados del país tras sus condenas penales, pero reingresaron ilegalmente. De los aproximadamente 11 millones de indocumentados que se calcula viven en EE.UU., cerca de un 10% tiene algún tipo de antecedente y sigue en las calles, dijo Morton.

Entre los detenidos hubo ciudadanos de México, República Dominicana, Panamá, Honduras y Nigeria.

Alrededor de un millón de inmigrantes ilegales que tienen condenas penales y están sujetos a deportación aún se encuentran en EE.UU. La agencia dijo que deporta a cerca de 390 mil personas al año, aproximadamente la mitad de las cuales son criminales convictos...

One million immigrants with criminal records live in the U.S.

A total of 2,901 undocumented immigrants with criminal records have recently been arrested in the United States. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that the effort was the largest law enforcement operation of its type to date.

Operation Verification (Cross Check) was carried out in 50 states and U.S. territories from Sep. 17^th through the 23^rd.

Of those arrested, 1,282 people had multiple convictions, and over 1,600 had been convicted of serious crimes such as armed robbery, attempted murder, kidnapping or drug trafficking, said ICE director John Morton at a press conference.

Some 681 detainees had been deported after their criminal convictions, but reentered the U.S. illegally...

Among those arrested were citizens of Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Honduras and Nigeria.

About one million illegal immigrants have criminal convictions and are subject to deportation in the U.S. are still The agency said it deports about 390,000 people per year. About half of that number are convicted criminals…

AFP, Reuters, ANSA

Sep. 20, 2011

Added: Sep.27, 2011

Mexico

Indigenous girls in Mexico live under constant threat from local and international sex traffickers

Delito de trata es recurrente en la Zona Montaña de Guerrero

Guerrero state - México ocupa la segunda posición a nivel mundial en el delito de trata de personas, tan sólo superado por Tailandia.

Falta de papeles agudiza el problema

Activistas reportan explotación sexual y laboral en comunidades indígenas que padecen marginación y pobreza extrema

Acapulco, Guerrero state - En la Montaña de Guerrero, la marginación y pobreza extrema orilla a algunos indígenas nahuatlecos, mixtecos, amuzgos y tlapanecos a vender a sus hijos menores de edad; otros son robados y los padres no pueden reclamarlos “por falta de papeles”, además de que muchos “desaparecen” en la búsqueda de mejores condiciones de vida.

No existe un registro oficial ni de ninguna otra clase, pero por las escasas denuncias ante organismos no gubernamentales como Tlachinollan —reconocido mundialmente por su férrea defensa de los derechos humanos—, se sabe que muchos de esos niños desaparecidos terminan reclutados para la pizca de jitomate en Sinaloa, como víctimas de las redes de prostitución infantil o como esclavos domésticos.

Neil Arias, vocera de Tlachinollan, dijo que, por usos y costumbres, cuando las hijas cumplen 12 años, sus padres las entregan en matrimonio a cambio de una “dote” que se traduce en dinero en efectivo.

La organización tiene registrados siete casos de desaparición de menores en 2010 luego de que sus padres los enviaron a las ciudades de Tlapa, Chilpancingo y Acapulco en busca de trabajo, pero como son “cazados” por los tratantes, desaparecen.

Sin embargo, la Procuraduría de Justicia del Estado tiene confirmadas 15 denuncias por la desaparición de niños indígenas que habían sido secuestrados fuera de sus escuelas.

No obstante, “los casos que son denunciados ante la Procuraduría no son investigados, sólo los archivan”, dijo Neil Arias, miembro del área jurídica de la organización.

Basándose en publicaciones locales, la abogada aseguró que sólo en Tlapa de Comonfort se dan al mes de dos a tres casos de niños o niñas indígenas desaparecidos. Otros casos se han registrado en Metlatónoc, Cochoapan El Grande, Atixtlac y Acatepec.

Entre los casos documentados por Tlachinollan está el de Claudia, una joven de 19 años de edad que tiene tres meses de haber desaparecido en la comunidad de Yoxondacua del Carmen, de Cochoapan El Grande, uno de los municipios más pobres del país.

La joven viajó al municipio de Tlapa de Comonfort para buscar trabajo y fue empleada por una comerciante ambulante de frutas. Hasta ahí sus huellas; nadie ha sabido más de ella.

Además, como sucede en muchos casos de desaparición, la familia no tiene ningún documento de la existencia de Claudia, ni acta de nacimiento ni fotografías, lo que dificulta la intervención de las autoridades.

“Es un trauma para las familias. Aquí, en la Montaña, carecemos de documentos y hay muchos niños y adultos que no tienen registro oficial. Muchos casos no son denunciados porque para poder denunciar a una persona extraviada es necesario presentar documentos de su existencia”.

De acuerdo con la Coordinación Técnica del Sistema Estatal del Registro Civil, en Guerrero hay 300 mil personas que no tienen acta de nacimiento ni otro documento para identificarse. De esa cantidad, 60% son niños y 40% adultos.

Dotes y ventas

Tlachinollan documentó denuncias en la región de la Montaña de padres que se llevan a sus hijos a trabajar como jornaleros en otros estados para luego regresar sin ellos y asegurar que desaparecieron. Otras denuncias fueron por la entrega de las hijas de entre 12 y 15 años de edad a cambio de dinero, según la práctica de usos y costumbres.

En algunos casos, las jóvenes son llevadas a las familias de sus novios a cambio de una “dote” de 100 mil pesos, lo que la organización no gubernamental calificó de “un comercio” que propicia la violencia familiar debido a que los novios consideran a las mujeres un objeto de su propiedad.

La venta de niñas se mantiene en municipios como Cochoapan El Grande y Metlatónoc, así como en Atixtlac y Acatepec, considerados entre los más pobres del país.

En ellos, las familias mantienen a las hijas como una mercancía.

En 2008, en el municipio de Atixtlac, tres niñas de 14, 15 y 16 años de edad fueron vendidas por cantidades de entre 30 y 50 mil pesos por un hombre que actualmente es procesado por el delito de trata de personas.

El hombre se hizo pasar por su padre para venderlas luego de atraerlas ofreciéndoles trabajos de cinco mil pesos mensuales. Después las obligó a realizar trabajos domésticos sin salario y en calidad de esclavas.

The crime of human trafficking is commonplace in the mountain region of Guerrero state

Mexico ranks second worldwide in the crime of human trafficking, surpassed only by Thailand.

The lack of paperwork documenting the existence of indigenous children exacerbates the problem

Activists report the existence of sexual and labor exploitation in indigenous communities suffering from extreme poverty and marginalization

Acapulco, Guerrero state - In the mountains of Guerrero, marginalization and extreme poverty of some indigenous causes some Nahuatleco, Mixtec, Amuzgo and Tlapaneco families to sell their underage children. Others are kidnapped, and their parents cannot supply the police with documentation [or even photos] of their child, because they don’t have any. Children and youth also disappear as they migrate in search of better opportunities in life.

The Tlachinollan Center is known globally for its fierce defense of human rights. Although no official registries of the plight of trafficked indigenous children exist in Mexico, the Center and other nongovernmental organizations have documented the few formal complaints of missing children that indigenous parents have been willing to make. From that work it is known that many of these missing children are taken to work in the tomato fields of Sinaloa state, are forced into child prostitution networks or are enslaved in domestic servitude.

Tlachinollan Center spokesman Neil Arias says that by custom, when a family’s daughter reaches age 12, the parents give her away in marriage in exchange for a "dowry" which translates into cash.

During 2010 the organization registered seven cases of missing children after their parents had sent them to the cities of Tlapa, Chilpancingo and Acapulco in search of work. They had been "hunted" by traffickers and disappeared.

The Guerrero Attorney General’s Office has also confirmed 15 cases involving indigenous children who were abducted outside of their schools.

However, "cases that are reported to the Attorney General are not investigated, they are only archived," said Arias, who is a member of the Tlachinollan Center’s legal team.

Based on news reports found in local publications, Arias said that in the town of Tlapa de Comonfort alone, two or three indigenous children disappear each month. Other cases have been reported in the towns of Metlatónoc, Cochoapan El Grande, Atixtlac and Acatepec.

Among the cases documented by the Tlachinollan Center is that of Claudia, a 19-year-old indigenous woman who has been missing for three months from the community of Yoxondacua del Carmen, in the Cochoapan El Grande municipality – one of the poorest regions in Mexico.

She traveled to the town of Tlapa de Comonfort to find work and was employed by a street vendor who sold fruit. That is the last that anyone has heard from her.

The family has no documentation of the existence of Claudia, neither a birth certificate nor photographs, which makes the intervention of the authorities difficult.

"This is traumatic for the families. Here in the Mountain region, many children and adults are not officially registered. Many cases go unreported because in order to file a report of a missing person, the family must present documentation of their existence," says Arias.

According to the technical coordination of the State System of Vital Records, Guerrero is 300 000 people who have no birth certificate or other document to be identified. Of that amount, 60% are children and 40% adults.

Dowries and sales

The Tlachinollan Center documented allegations in the Mountain region of parents who take their children to work as laborers in other states before returning without them. The parents then report them as having disappeared. In other cases, complaints were filed because families had handed over their 12- to 15year-old daughters in exchange for cash, in accordance with their indigenous traditions.

In some cases, girls are taken to the families of their boyfriends in exchange for a "dowry" of 100 thousand pesos [$7,300 US dollars]. One nongovernmental organization called this a "business" that fosters domestic violence because the boyfriend consider the woman [or underage girl] to be their property.

The sale of underage girls continues to take place in towns such as Cochoapan El Grande, Metlatónoc, Atixtlac and Acatepec, which are considered to be among the poorest areas in Mexico.

In these regions, families view their daughters as merchandise.

In 2008 in the municipality of Atixtlac, three girls - ages 14, 15 and 16 - were sold for amounts between 30 and 50 thousand pesos [between $2,200 and $3,600 US dollars] by a man who is now on trial for the crime of human trafficking.

The man had posed as the father of the girl victims, after having entrapped them with false job offers stating that he would pay them 5,000 pesos [$360 US dollars] per month to perform domestic work. After accepting the offers, the girls were put to work as unpaid domestic slaves.

Informador

Sep. 26, 2011

Added: Sep. 25, 2011

Honduras, Mexico

Sex traffickers are increasingly targeting underage indigenous girls from Honduras.

The victims, who are typically between the ages of 12 and 15, are for the most part taken to Mexico's southern border city of Tapachula, in the state of Chiapas. We note that Save the Children has identified the southern Mexico border region near Guatemala as being the largest zone of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) in the world. Tapachula is the center of that hell.

- LibertadLatina

Miskito indigenous girl children in Honduras

See also:

Indigenous communities in Honduras – like indigenous communities around the world – are among the most poor and marginalized. Working with Change for Children's local partner Alianza Verde, [our] project works with indigenous women’s associations to build capacity, develop a strong network amongst indigenous communities, educate about women’s rights and engage communities in national level policy dialogue.

Change for Children

Aumenta trata de niñas indígenas en Honduras

La mayoría de las menores tienen entre 12 y 15 años de edad

Tegucigalpa, Honduras - La trata de niñas indígenas de Honduras hacia México ha aumentado, denunciaron organizaciones mexicanas en contra de la explotación sexual infantil.

La miembro de la organización Enlace, Comunicación y Capacitación, Ana Elena Barrios, aseguró que la mayoría de las menores tienen entre los 12 y 15 años de edad y son explotadas en la ciudad de Chiapas, fronteriza con Tapachula.

Barrios advirtió que este es “uno de los puntos de prostitución más grande del mundo”. Opinó que aparte de Honduras, igualmente ha aumentado la trata de niñas indígenas de Guatemala y El Salvador, hacia México.

La coautora de la investigación "Sur inicio de un camino", que versa sobre los derechos de la población migrante centroamericana, reveló que hay nuevas rutas, más aisladas, para introducir centroamericanas a través de la zona de la Mesilla, del municipio Frontera de Comapala, Chiapas.

Este fenómeno a la alza es ignorado en México por discriminación racial y de género, señaló América Martínez, de la Asociación para el Desarrollo Integral (APADI), que realiza campañas de salud sexual en sexoservidoras y contra la trata.

Así funciona la trata

Los compradores pueden ser hombres de la comunidad que migraron y ahora son "enganchadores", o desconocidos que emborrachan a los padres o autoridades locales y van por niñas desde los ocho años de edad, revelan las investigaciones.

“El que busca sexualmente a estas niñas obviamente es mucho más violento, porque es una expresión absoluta de poder, donde ellas no tienen ninguna opción de defenderse, ni siquiera de usar condón”, lamentó América Martínez.

Otro mecanismo de los "enganchadores" es el de enamorar a las adolescentes y prometerles casarse, y uno más el de ofrecer empleo fuera de la comunidad.

Esas niñas terminan en prostíbulos de la región, son esclavas laborales o se trafica con sus órganos, por lo que también se les lleva a otros estados mexicanos o incluso a Estados Unidos, indican los estudios.

Teresa Ulloa, titular de la Coalición Regional Contra el Tráfico de Mujeres y Niñas en América Latina y el Caribe (CATW en sus siglas en inglés), observa que el incremento de este delito también se debe a “la llegada del crimen organizado a las comunidades indígenas” y a la fallida estrategia del Estado contra el narcotráfico.

En su opinión el narco recién descubrió en las niñas en general un potencial a explotar “porque no se les pone atención, y ya las empezaron a reclutar de halconas, sicarias, mulas o de esclavas sexuales, y eso es trata, porque al final las están usando para proteger su negocio”.

Igualmente responsabilizó del aumento de la trata infantil a la estrategia del Estado contra el narco: “generalmente donde se mueve el operativo conjunto hay más trata hacia ese lugar, más violaciones de mujeres, más consumo de prostitución, y más feminicidos”.

The sex trafficking of indigenous children is on the increase in Honduras

Most of victims are between 12 and 15 years old

Tegucigalpa, Honduras – Non-governmental organizations that work against child sexual exploitation in Mexico have denounced the fact that the sex trafficking of underage girls from Honduras into Mexico is on the increase.

Ana Elena Barrios of the organization Networking, Communication and Training noted that most of the girls who are being victimized are between the ages of 12 and 15 years. They are typically taken to city of Tapachula in Mexico’s southern border state of Chiapas.

Barrios warned that “this is one of the largest centers of prostitution in the world.” She added that the enslavement of minor indigenous girls from Guatemala and El Salvador to Mexico is also increasing.

Barrios is the co-author of "The South, the Beginning of a Journey", which investigates the state of human rights of Central American migrants. She revealed that traffickers have now developed new, more isolated routes for human trafficking that are located in the Mesilla area in the Comapala region of the Mexican Border in Chiapas state.

This rising phenomenon is being ignored by Mexico’s government due to racial and gender discrimination, according to América Martínez of the Association for Integral Development, which provides health services to those in prostitution and works against human trafficking.

This is how trafficking works

Those who work as traffickers may be migrant men who now who work as ‘trappers,’ or other anonymous men who scheme to get [indigenous] parents drunk. These traffickers target girls as young as age 8, according to research.

"The men who seek out sex with these underage girls are obviously much more violent, because their actions are an absolute expression of power, when the girl has no option available to defend herself – not even to use a condom,” lamented América Martínez.

Another tricks used by these "recruiters" is to pretend to fall in love with the victim and then promise to marry her, or to offer the girl a false employment opportunity outside of her community.

These girls end up in brothels in the region, face labor slavery or have their human organs taken from them. They are taken to states within Mexico or to the United States.

Teresa Ulloa, president of the Regional Coalition Against Trafficking in Women and Girls for Latin America and the Caribbean (CATW), notes that the increase of this crime is also due to "the arrival of organized crime in indigenous communities" and is also a byproduct of Mexico’s failed strategy against drug trafficking.

In Ulloa’s view, the drug cartels recently discovered that the sex trafficking of girls in general was profitable, "because nobody pays attention [to their plight],” and because the drug traffickers have begun to recruit [large numbers of youth] to work are street hawkers, assassins, sex slaves and drug mules. All of those activities constitute trafficking, because at the end of the day they are using these minors to protect their businesses."

Ulloa equally blamed the rise in child trafficking on the State's strategy against drug trafficking. “Generally, we see an increase in trafficking, more violations of women’s rights, more consumption of prostitution and more femicide [gender based murders] in areas where anti-drug operations are taking place.”

El Heraldo

Honduras

Sep. 22, 2011

See also:

Added: Sep. 23, 2011

Mexico

Indigenous women and children in Mexico

Activists raise the alarm bell in regard to the explosive growth in the kidnapping and sexual enslavement of indigenous children by human traffickers across Mexico

Human traffickers target large numbers of indigenous children for sexual slavery across Mexico because their victims are discriminated against by the larger society, and because they do not speak Spanish and have been raised with docile personalities.

In response, government has not addressed the issue - which aslo involves dynamics of institutional racism against indigenous peoples. The rate of their kidnapping for purposes of sexual enslavement has increased alarmingly over the past 3 years.

Aumenta la trata de niñas indígenas

Activistas advierten que desde hace tres años creció de “manera alarmante” la trata infantil indígena y que se ignora por discriminación racial

El 14 de julio la niña maya Juane Belem Rojas fue secuestrada en su propia casa de la comunidad de Morocoy, Quintana Roo, por una red de trata sexual. La Agencia Federal de Investigación (AFI) la rescató quince días después en Villa Hermosa, Tabasco.

En la capital mexicana, María, una niña chiapaneca tzeltal de 13 años, fue rescatada en un operativo realizado el 22 de mayo en el callejón de Manzanares de la Merced. María fue la víctima de menor edad del grupo de 61 mujeres liberadas de en el operativo.

Rebeca Ruiz Gómez, tzotzil de 16 años de edad, vendía artesanías con su abuela en la plaza de San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas. El primero de mayo una familia que dijo vivir en Cuautitlán, Estado de México, le ofreció trabajo en el servicio doméstico y se la llevó. Ahora se ignora el paradero de Rebeca.

Teresa Ulloa, titular de la Coalición Regional Contra el Tráfico de Mujeres y Niñas en América Latina y el Caribe, A.C. (CATW en sus siglas en inglés), considera que éstos casos son representativos del incremento en la trata de niñas indígenas en México con fines de explotación sexual y laboral.

El aumento de la trata indígena en México “es alarmante”, dice.

Ulloa explica que no hay investigaciones ni datos confiables de trata indígena en ninguna parte del país, pero de 60 casos que atiende ahora 10 por ciento son de niñas y mujeres indígenas, y las etnias representan un porcentaje menor en la población nacional (entre 7 y 10 por ciento).

Su lectura surge también de su investigación de campo titulada Revalorización de las mujeres indígenas de los Altos de Chiapas, realizada por CATW entre 2010 y 2011 y hasta ahora inédita.

Otras especialistas y activistas indígenas coinciden con Ulloa.

La diputada Rosi Orozco, presidenta de la Comisión Especial contra la Trata de Personas, expone el caso de distintos ejidos del municipio de Tamuín, San Luis Potosí, en donde recientemente han secuestrado a niñas y a un niño pertenecientes “a 15 familias, muchas de ellas indígenas”.

La nahua Guadalupe Martínez, representante de la Alianza de Mujeres Indígenas de Centroamérica y de México en el centro del país, señala que cada vez se observan más casos de trata laboral o sexual “en pueblos mazahuas, otomíes, ñañus, mixtecos”.

Los mecanismos

Ana Elena Barrios, de la organización Enlace, Comunicación y capacitación, coautora de la investigación Sur inicio de un camino, que versa sobre los derechos de la población migrante centroamericana, opina igualmente ha aumentado la trata de niñas indígenas de Guatemala, Salvador y Honduras a México.

Asegura que la mayoría de ellas está en los 12 y 15 años de edad y son explotadas en la ciudad chiapaneca fronteriza de Tapachula, “uno de los puntos de prostitución más grande del mundo”. Advierte que hay nuevas rutas, más aisladas, para introducir centroamericanas a través de la zona de la Mesilla, del municipio Frontera de Comapala, Chiapas.

Este fenómeno a la alza es ignorado en México por discriminación racial y de género, opina América Martínez, de la Asociación para el Desarrollo Integral (APADI), que realiza campañas de salud sexual en sexoservidoras y contra la trata.

“No es lo mismo que secuestren al hijo de Alejandro Martí que a una niña indígena”, dice en referencia al secuestro y asesinato del hijo del empresario que movilizó al gobierno federal y local y a la sociedad en general.
Ulloa piensa que las niñas indígenas son más vulnerables a la trata porque muchas son monolingües, culturalmente son dóciles, pudieron ser víctimas de violencia intrafamiliar, y crecieron en poblados de extrema pobreza y marginación.
Su estudio se realizó en tres municipios chiapanecos: Chenalhó, San Juan Chamula y Oxchuc, conocidos por tener población mayoritariamente católica, con militancia en el Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) y con altos grados de alcoholismo.

La especialista dice que en estas poblaciones dominadas por el sistema patriarcal las mujeres no valen, por lo que aumenta la practica de venta de niñas por parte de sus padres.

Los compradores pueden ser hombres de la comunidad que migraron y ahora son enganchadores, o desconocidos que emborrachan a los padres o autoridades locales y van por niñas desde los ocho años de edad.

Refiere que en algunos casos la venta se realiza a través de un ritual de tres visitas en el que participan autoridades locales.

Los compradores llevan “rejas de refresco, pan, carne, y cada vez más se da una transacción en efectivo que va de 3 mil a 20 mil pesos”.

En un caso contrastante, destaca, las mujeres de las comunidades zapatistas chiapanecas exigieron en 1994 eliminar esa práctica ancestral en su Ley Revolucionaria de Mujeres “para que ellas elijan con quien casarse”.

Otro mecanismo de los enganchadores es el de enamorar a las adolescentes y prometerles casarse, y uno más el de ofrecer empleo fuera de la comunidad.

Dice que estas prácticas también se acostumbran en otros estados. Esas niñas terminan en prostíbulos de la región, son esclavas laborales o se trafica con sus órganos, por lo que también se les lleva a otros estados o incluso a Estados Unidos.

Ulloa observa que el incremento de este delito también se debe a “la llegada del crimen organizado a las comunidades indígenas” y a la fallida estrategia del Estado contra el narcotráfico.

La respuesta institucional

Actualmente el Estado no cuenta con un modelo de atención a víctimas indígenas de trata.

Sara Irene Herrerías, titular de la Fiscalía Especial para los delitos de Violencia contra las Mujeres y Trata de personas (FEVIMTRA), dice que sin embargo “hay avances” en la Comisión intersecretarial para prevenir y sancionar la trata de personas, pues se realizan cápsulas preventivas que se difunden en lenguas indígenas en algunas comunidades.

La aprobación de la Ley General contra la Trata de Personas el pasado 3 de agosto es desatacada por la diputada Orozco, pues considera que además de sancionar con penas más graves a los victimarios, sí especifica la condición indígena.

Sin embargo, la coautora del libro sobre trata titulado Del cielo al infierno en un día, enfatiza que es importante homologar esa ley en todos los estados, pues actualmente sólo 16 tienen ley contra la trata.

Además piensa que esta ley no servirá si no se realizan operativos de rescate y se crean equipos interdisciplinarios para acompañar y proteger a las víctimas hasta el final del proceso.

Tampoco la ley servirá si no se sentencia a victimarios. Dice que en el país sólo en el Distrito Federal, Chiapas y Puebla se ha sentenciado a proxenetas.

“Existe la impunidad porque no hay sentencias, y porque en algunos estados estas son mayores por robarse una vaca que una niña”.

Rodolfo Casillas, autor del libro Me acuerdo bien…testimonios y percepciones de trata de niñas y mujeres en la Ciudad de México, precisa que antes de legislar y de establecer programas “hace falta reunir información pertinente sobre los efectos y consecuencias de la trata de personas en comunidades indígenas, y no se observa en el gobierno federal disposición alguna (presupuesto, programas, personal) para ello”.

The trafficking of indigenous girls is on the increase in Mexico

Activists warn that there has been an “alarming increase” in the [sex] trafficking of indigenous children during the past three years – a crisis that is being ignored by the authorities due to racial discrimination that targets indigenous peoples

On July 14th a Mayan indigenous girl named Juane Belem Rojas was kidnapped by a sex trafficking network from her own home in the community of Morocoy in the state of Quintana Roo. The Federal Investigation Agency (AFI- equivalent to the FBI in the U.S.) rescued her two weeks later in the city of Villa Hermosa, in Tabasco state.

In Mexico City, María, a 13-year-old indigenous girl of the Tzeltal ethnic group was rescued during a raid on May 22 in the Manzanares Alley section of La Merced [one of Mexico City’s most notorious prostitution tolerance zones]. Mary was the youngest victim in a group of 61 women and girls who were freed in the operation.

Rebeca Ruiz Gómez, a 16-year-old Tzotzil girl, was selling crafts with her grandmother in the plaza of the city of San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas state. On May 1^st a family who said that they lived in Cuautitlan, in Mexico state, offered her work as a domestic servant, and took her away. Nobody knows Rebeca’s whereabouts.

Teresa Ulloa, president of the Regional Coalition Against Trafficking in Women and Girls in Latin America and the Caribbean (CATW), believes that these cases are representative of the increase in the trafficking of underage indigenous girls in Mexico for the purposes of sexual and labor exploitation.

The increase in the trafficking of indigenous girls in Mexico "is alarming," he says.

Ulloa explains that no reliable research or data exists anywhere in Mexico in regard to the trafficking of indigenous peoples. However, of the 60 cases that Ulloa is now serving, 10 percent of the victims are indigenous girls and women. Indigenous peoples ar 7 to 10 percent of Mexico’s population [some figures place native population at 30% of all Mexicans].

Ulloa’s perspective is also informed by her field research in the subject entitled Re-evaluation of Indigenous Women in the Highlands of Chiapas, a not-yet published study conducted by the CATW between 2010 and 2011.

Other scholars and indigenous activists agree with Ulloa’s analysis.

Congresswoman Rosi Orozco, who is the president of the Special Committee to Fight Human Trafficking in the Chamber of Deputies [lower house of Congress], describes a case that has affected various towns in the municipality of Tamuín in the state of San Luis Potosi. Recently, a number of girls, and one boy, were kidnapped from 15 families, many of whom are indigenous.

Nahua activists Guadalupe Martinez, who is a representative of the Alliance of Indigenous Women of Central America and Mexico for central Mexico, says that they are seeing an ever-increasing number of cases of sexual and labor trafficking “affecting people from the "Mazahua Otomi, Nanus, Mixtec ethnic groups."

How trafficking works

Ana Elena Barrios of the organization Networking, Communication and Training, researched and co-authored "The South, the Beginning of a Journey", which investigates the state of human rights of Central American migrants, also believes that there is an increase in the trafficking of underage indigenous girls from Guatemala, Salvador and Honduras into Mexico.

Barrios says that most of the victims are 12 to 15 years old. They are exploited in the Mexican border city of Tapachula, in Chiapas state, which is "one of the largest prostitution zones the world." Barrios warns that new, more isolated trafficking routes – located near the Mesilla area in the municipality of Frontera Comapala in Chiapas, Mexico, are being used to traffic Central American women and girls.

"Kidnapping the son of Alejandro Martí is not the same as kidnapping an indigenous girl," says Martínez, in reference to the abduction and murder of the son of businessman – a case that mobilized federal and local government and society in general to take action.

Ulloa think Indian girls are more vulnerable to trafficking because many are monolingual [they only speak an indigenous language], they are culturally docile, they may have been victims of domestic violence, and they grew up in villages that have experienced extreme poverty and marginalization.

Ulloa’s study was conducted in three municipalities in [largely Mayan] Chiapas state: Chenalhó, San Juan Chamula and Oxchuc. These areas are known for having a predominantly Catholic population, loyalty to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and high levels of alcoholism.

Ulloa noted that these populations are dominated by a patriarchal culture where women are not valued, which is why the practice of parents selling their daughters is on the increase.

He says that in some cases the sale is made through a ritual of three visits involving local authorities.

Buyers bring "refreshments, bread, meat, and increasingly there is a cash transaction that goes from 3000 to 20,000 pesos [$217 to $1,450 US dollars]."

By contrast, says Ulloa, the women of the [indigenous] Zapatista communities in Chiapas in 1994 demanded the elimination of this ancient practice in their Women's Revolutionary Law" – which provides the right for women to choose whom they marry."

Another tricks used by these "recruiters" is to pretend to fall in love with the victim and then promise to marry her, or to offer the girl a false employment opportunity outside of her community.

Ulloa says that these practices are also customary in other states. These girls end up in brothels in the region are trafficked for slave labor or for their bodies. They are taken to other Mexican states or to the United States.

The institutional response

Currently the state does not have a model of care for indigenous victims of trafficking.

Sara Irene Herrerías, who is Mexico’s Special Prosecutor for Violent Crimes against Women and Human Trafficking (FEVIMTRA), states that nonetheless, there have been advances made by the Inter-secretarial Commission to Prevent and Sanction Human Trafficking [a commission called for in the weak 2007 anti-trafficking law]. Prevention information packets in a number of indigenous languages are being distributed in some native communities.

The approval of the [revised] Law Against Trafficking of Persons on August 3, 2011 is orchestrated by Deputy Orozco. In addition to providing harsher penalties for traffickers, the new legislative proposal does take into account the situation that is facing indigenous peoples.

However, Deputy Orozco, who is the author of a book about human trafficking called From Heaven to Hell in a Day, emphasizes that it is important to synchronize anti trafficking laws across Mexico’s [31] state. Today, only 16 states have passed such legislation. [The 2007 federal anti-trafficking law is not a ‘general’ law, and therefore cannot be enforced in the states].

Orozco also believes that the new law will not work rescue operations are not carried out, and if interdisciplinary teams are not created to accompany and protect the victims through the end of the process.

Nor will the law be effective is the perpetrators are not sentenced, added Orozco. So noted that only Mexico City, and the states of Puebla and Chiapas have sentenced pimps to prison.

Deputy Orozco, "Impunity exists because prison sentences are not handed down, and because in some states the penalties for robbing a cow are harsher than for kidnapping a girl child.”

Rodolfo Casillas, author of the book I Remember Well ... Testimonies and Perceptions of the Trafficking in Girls and Women in Mexico City, states that prior to legislating and establishing programs, "we need to collect relevant information about the effects and consequences of human trafficking in indigenous communities, and we don’t see any desire whatsoever on the part of the federal government to presents proposals, create programs or commit personnel to address the issue."

Laura Castellanos

El Mercurio Digital

Sep. 22, 2011

Added: Sep. 22, 2011

Mexico

Importantes diarios mexicanos retiran publicidad sexual

Mexico - Dos de los más grandes grupos editores de periódicos de México dijeron el martes que dejaron de publicar la mayoría de los anuncios de oferta sexual que alguna vez cubrieron las últimas páginas de sus populares tabloides.

El diario El Universal dijo en una historia publicada en su página principal que ni éste ni su tabloide El Gráfico publicarán "anuncios que podrían ser utilizados por traficantes de personas", a fin de ayudar a combatir lo que expertos califican como un enorme problema de explotación de mujeres y niños en México.

"Convocamos a la industria periodística a que cerremos la puerta a estos criminales, no sólo en el ámbito comercial, ni únicamente en periódicos y revistas, sino que medios de gran penetración como la televisión, dejen de emplear estas temáticas como herramienta de penetración", dijo Juan Francisco Ealy, presidente ejecutivo de El Universal.

El diario Reforma también manifestó que canceló los anuncios. Verónica Tapia, de Grupo Reforma, dijo que su principal publicación, el Reforma, y su tabloide Metro ya no aceptarían anuncios de servicios sexuales.

Las ediciones tabloide de ambos diarios continuaron publicando el martes anuncios de lo que parecen ser servicios de "conversación" telefónica de orientación sexual, pero los anuncios de servicios estilo acompañamiento que aparecían por decenas han desaparecido de ambos.

Ninguno de los diarios indicó qué lineamientos específicos estaban aplicando en la prohibición, y algunos otros diarios continúan publicando anuncios de "acompañamiento" con frases como "dieciocho solamente ... oral natural", "24 horas de placer, discreción, 150%", "princesa complaciéndote totalmente, departamento".

Teresa Ulloa, directora regional de la Coalición contra el Tráfico de Mujeres y Niñas en América Latina y el Caribe (CATW-LAC, por sus siglas en inglés), dijo que es sabido que proxenetas manejan anuncios en diarios de México ofreciendo los servicios de mujeres forzadas a la prostitución, e incluso niñas.

"Las anunciaban como colegiales, bonitas, preciosas, infinidad de casos que hemos encontrado", dijo Ulloa, señalando que el grupo calcula que hay probablemente medio millón de mujeres y niñas que sufren actualmente explotación sexual comercial en México.

Esa cifra incluye migrantes de Centroamérica y mujeres pobres del México rural que son forzadas a la prostitución por su pobreza, engaño o secuestro por parte de bandas del crimen organizado.

Aunque calificó como "superpositivo" el paso dado por los dos diarios de circulación nacional con sede en la ciudad de México, ya que "eso permitirá disminuir la oferta de servicios sexuales que propicia la trata de mujeres y niñas en este país", Ulloa agregó que debe hacerse mucho más en los diarios de provincia y otros medios.

"Quisiéramos que fuera como una epidemia, que fuera contagioso, en los estados de la república. Hay veces que los periódicos principales que circulan en cada estado traen cuatro páginas de noticias, y ocho de oferta sexual; es un problema muy grave en México", subrayó.

Expertos afirman que México tiene un problema especialmente difícil en materia de prostitución forzada.
Dicen que grupos organizados de proxenetas en poblados como Tenancingo, Tlaxcala, se especializan en forzar a mujeres jóvenes a la prostitución en el país y exportan a algunas de ellas a Estados Unidos. Otras bandas se especializan en suministrar mujeres en ciudades fronterizas y centros vacacionales, y otros secuestran o fuerzan a la prostitución a mujeres migrantes que pasan a través de México, afirman los expertos.

Mark Stevenson

The Associated Press

Sep. 21, 2011

See also:

Added: Sep. 22, 2011

Mexico

Two of Mexico’s largest newspaper groups drop most sex ads amid anti-trafficking campaigns

Mexico City - Two of Mexico’s largest newspaper groups said Tuesday they have stopped running most of the sex ads that once blanketed the back pages of their popular tabloids.

The newspaper El Universal said in a front-page story that it and its tabloid El Grafico will not carry “ads that could be used by traffickers of people” to help combat what experts call a huge problem of exploitation of women and children in Mexico.

“We call on the journalistic community to close the door to criminals, not just in the commercial sphere, and not just in newspapers and magazines,” said Juan Francisco Ealy, the executive president of El Universal.

The newspaper Reforma also said it had canceled the ads. Veronica Tapia of Grupo Reforma said the company’s flagship broadsheet, Reforma, and its tabloid Metro would no longer accept sexual-service ads.

Both companies’ tabloid editions continued to run ads Tuesday for what appear to be sexually oriented phone chat services, but escort-style ads that once ran into the dozens had disappeared.

Neither paper specified what guidelines it was applying in the ban, and some other papers continued to run escort ads offering “24 hours of pleasure, discrete, $150,” ‘’I will please you totally, my apartment,” or “only 18 years old!”

Such ads have drawn criticism from feminist and child welfare groups, which argue the advertisements provide wider markets for violent pimps and popularize paid sexual services or make them seem more socially acceptable.

Teresa Ulloa, director of the Coalition Against Trafficking of Women and Children in Latin America and the Caribbean, said pimps have been known to run ads in newspapers in Mexico offering the services of women and even children who have been forced into prostitution.

“They advertised them as ‘school girls,’ ‘pretty things,’” Ulloa said, noting that her group estimates there are probably about a half-million women and children currently suffering commercial sexual exploitation in Mexico.

That number includes migrants from Central America and poor women from rural Mexico who are forced into prostitution, sexual performance or sexually abusive situations by poverty, deceit or outright kidnapping by organized gangs.

While calling the step by the two Mexico City-based, national newspapers “super positive,” Ulloa said a lot more had to be done in provincial newspapers and other media.

“We want this to be like an epidemic, for it to be contagious ... throughout the country,” she said. “There are times when in some outlying states, the main newspapers in the states will have four pages of news and eight pages of sex ads.”

Experts say Mexico has an especially difficult problem in forced prostitution.

They say organized gangs of pimps in towns like Tenancingo, Tlaxcala, specialize in forcing young women into domestic prostitution and exporting some of them to the United States. Other gangs supply women to tourists in border cities and resorts, and still others kidnap or otherwise force migrant women passing through Mexico into prostitution, the experts say.

The Associated Press

Sep. 21, 2011

See also:

Added: Sep. 22, 2011

Reconoce PGR iniciativa de El Universal

Alejandra Barrales, Manlio Fabio Beltrones y el procurador Miguel Ángel Mancera también celebraron que esta casa editorial cancele la publicidad que pueda ser utilizada por tratantes de personas

Funcionarios, legisladores y representantes de la sociedad civil reconocieron la decisión de El Universal de suprimir la publicidad de servicios que puedan ser aprovechados por tratantes de personas, y consideraron que este paso es un ejemplo a seguir en la lucha por prevenir y erradicar este delito.

La procuradora general de la República, Marisela Morales Ibáñez, afirmó que la iniciativa, anunciada por el licenciado Juan Francisco Ealy Ortiz, Presidente Ejecutivo y del Consejo de Administración de El Universal, demuestra el compromiso de esta casa editorial en el combate a la trata de personas.

"Este delito lo podremos enfrentar solamente con el compromiso de todos, compromiso que hoy es reflejado con las acciones de esta gran casa editorial.Con estas iniciativas y acciones, juntos sociedad y gobierno le haremos frente común a estos cobardes delincuentes", manifestó.

Recordó que México cuenta, desde 2007, con una ley específica para combatir la trata de personas, desde 2008 con una Fiscalía Especial y desde 2011 con un programa nacional intersecretarial en el que diversas dependencias coordinan acciones para prevenir y erradicar la trata.

El senador Manlio Fabio Beltones, coordinador de la bancada del Partido Revolucionario Institucional en el Senado de la República, reconoció la contribución de las organizaciones civiles en la elaboración y aprobación de la Ley para Prevenir y Sancionar la Trata de Personas, cuando la Organización de las Naciones Unidas ubicaba a México entre los países que no hacían esfuerzo alguno en el tema.

"Las resistencias vienen de la ignorancia, del ocultamiento de la información, y sobre todo, de algunas actitudes que forman parte de nuestra cultura, que tenemos que corregir. Hoy aquí, en el El Universal se da un paso muy importante que hace efectiva la legislación", afirmó.

Teresa Ulloa, directora regional de la Coalición contra el Tráfico de mujeres y Niñas en América Latina y el Caribe, entregó al licenciado Ealy Ortiz una placa que certifica al diario como un medio de libre de la promoción de trata de personas y de prostitución.

Anunció además que el próximo viernes se entregará a este diario el Cuarto Premio Latinoamericano por la Vida y la Seguridad de las Mujeres.

Josefina Vázquez Mota, consideró que las tres decisiones anunciadas por El Universal son la mejor noticia para las niñas y los niños, para las mujeres y los jovenes que están siendo víctimas de este delito.

"Hoy se escribe no solo una nueva página en la historia de El Universal, se escribe una nueva y una mejor página e la esperanza para México", dijo.

La diputada Alejandra Barrales, presidenta de la Asamblea Legislativa del Distrito Federal, afirmó que la decisión de El Universal genera un parteaguas en la manera de un medio de comunicación de responsabilizarse con la información.

El procurador de Justicia del Distrito Federal, Miguel Ángel Mancera, hizo un llamado a los demás medios de comunicación para seguir el ejemplo de El Universal, que consideró "es un paso más en la búsqueda del empoderamiento de las mujeres, las niñas y los niños".

Felipe de la Torre, coordinador de la campaña "Corazón Azul" contra la trata de personas, de la Oficina de las Naciones Unidas contra la Droga y el Delito, expresó su reconocimiento a "la decisión de carácter práctico, que se suma a las acciones de combate a la trata de personas".

Federal attorney general praises El Universal for cancelling sexual services advertisin

Officials and NGOs Praise El Universal's decision to drop sexual services advertising

Mexico City legislative leader Alejandra Barrales, [federal] Senator Manlio Fabio Beltrones and Mexico City attorney general Miguel Ángel Mancera join in the acknowledgement

Government officials, legislators and representatives from civil society joined today to recognize the El Universal newspaper for heir decision to cancel all advertising for services that could be exploited by human traffickers. They agreed that the decision is an example that should be followed by other organizations to increase the effectiveness of the fight against human trafficking.

Federal Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibáñez declared that the decision, which was announced by El Universal's Executive President Juan Francisco Ealy Ortiz, showed the newspaper's commitment to the fight against human trafficking.

Attorney General Morales Ibáñez, "We can only wage this fight with everyone's participation, which we see today with the decision of this great editorial institution, With these types of actions and initiatives, society and government together will build a common front against these cowardly delincuents..."

María de la Luz González

El Universal

Mexico City

Sep. 21, 2011

Added: Sep. 20, 2011

Mexico

México – “foco rojo” en trata de personas

National City, California.- A comienzos de 2004, Marisa Ugarte consiguió que el Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos financiara parte de una investigación que la llevaría al centro de las ciudades fronterizas del lado mexicano en las que ella había documentado la operación extraordinaria de grupos involucrados en la trata de personas.

Lo que halló en sus incursiones de dos años en zonas de bares y prostíbulos de Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad Juárez, Nogales y Tijuana reafirmó lo que ya muchas organizaciones civiles habían revelado: la corrupción y participación de autoridades en el negocio criminal convertía a estas ciudades en un paraíso para esclavizar sexualmente a mujeres, infantes y varones, lo mismo que para subordinarlos a trabajos forzados en uno y otro lado de la frontera. Pero en una segunda fase del trabajo de campo, que comenzó en 2008 y mantiene hasta hoy, obtuvo el dato más inquietante de todos.

Ugarte centró sus esfuerzos en descubrir detalles operativos en Mexicali, Tecate y Tijuana, las tres zonas más populosas de la frontera bajacaliforniana. Y en ellas censó alrededor de 5 mil células inmiscuidas en la trata.

La dirigente del Corredor de Seguridad Binacional Tijuana-San Diego, una organización que durante dos décadas ha trabajado en el rescate y asesoramiento de víctimas de tráfico y explotación humana, se metió en cada burdel, cantina, hotel y calle donde se ejerce el comercio sexual y se agrupa a migrantes. Ugarte dice que fue una investigación que contó con mucho menor presupuesto que la primera, y fue justo la falta de recursos lo que la obligó a levantar, ella misma, muchas de las entrevistas con víctimas y victimarios. El dato de los 5 mil activos dentro de la industria la estremeció, pero hasta cierto punto lo encuentra lógico.

Cuatro años atrás, en Tijuana, un taxista le ofreció en venta un niño de cinco años. “Me dijo que podía hacer con él lo que quisiera”. Por eso, cuenta, el asombro no le llegó por el drama de los individuos, sino por la complejidad y magnitud de quienes se volcaron al negocio de la trata de humanos en un periodo relativamente corto.

Ugarte clasificó las operaciones en 10 rubros fundamentales, que van desde el traslado, almacenamiento y cruce de personas, al manejo financiero y blanqueo de dinero, y los operadores se encuentran indistintamente entre la clase empresarial, política, policial y criminal tanto de México como de Estados Unidos.

“Cada célula es independiente y se venden servicios unos a otros”, explica. “Esto nos revela qué tan organizados están y también por qué no se pelean entre sí. Cada quien tiene un lugar, un movimiento, un transporte, un aseguramiento, un manejo de documentación falsa. Todo lo que haga falta”.

Las células descritas por la activista pueden estar constituidas por cuatro o cinco individuos o por más de un centenar. Las grandes organizaciones son, por lo general, células que en origen se dedicaban al tráfico de estupefacientes y por ello mismo suelen ser las que dominan las rutas de trasiego, aseguramiento y explotación de humanos. “Por eso es un negocio de alto riesgo. Hay muchas zonas a las que ya no puedo ir y no sólo en México, sino aquí mismo, al norte de San Diego, porque allí es donde operan las grandes estructuras criminales, como la mafia rusa, la china y la mexicana”, dice.

Mexico is a "hot spot" of human trafficking

National City, California .- In early 2004, Marisa Ugarte obtained funding from the U.S. Department of State U.S. to finance part of an investigation that would focus on Mexico’s U.S. border region, where she has documented the extraordinary dynamics of human trafficking operations.

What Ugarte discovered during her two year investigation of the bars and brothels of the cities of Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana has reaffirmed what many non-governmental organizations have said in the past – that the participation of corrupt government officials has turned the region into a paradise for the enslavement of women, girls and boys in forced prostitution, as well as for their exploitation in labor slavery on both sides of the Mexico / U.S. border.

The second phase of Ugarte’s work, which started in 2008 and continues today, revealed the most disturbing fact of all. Focusing her research efforts on the study of human trafficking operations in the three most populous cities in the western state of Baja California – Mexicali, Tecate and Tijuana, Ugarte found that 5,000 criminal human trafficking ‘cells’ are in operation. Although those results shocked her, she finds them to be logical [extensions of social conditions in the region].

Ugarte is the director of the Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition (BSCC), an organization [coalition of more than 40 organizations and agencies on both sides of the international border] that rescues and counsels human trafficking and exploitation victims. She notes that the second phase of her investigation had a much lower budget than the first. She therefore found herself personally conducting many of the interviews that were carried out with victims and perpetrators. During that process Ugarte entered every brothel, tavern hotel, and street corner where commercial sex is sold or where migrants congregate.

Four years ago in Tijuana, a taxi driver offered her a 5-year-old boy. Ugarte, “He sad that I could do anything I wanted with him.” [We note that many dozens of Tijuana’s taxi drivers wait at the U.S. border each night to take U.S. men into the heart of the city’s red light district. - LL] Ugarte is surprised not by the drama of the individuals involved, but by the complexity and magnitude of the explosive growth in human trafficking in a relatively short period of time.

Ugarte has identified 10 key categories of human trafficking activity in the region, ranging from the transport and housing of victims, to the creation of false identification documents, to financial management and money laundering. The operators of these cells include members of the business community, politicians and law enforcements agents both in Mexico and in the United States.

“Each cell is independent. They sell services to each other,” explains Ugarte. “This shows us how well organized they are. They don’t fight among themselves. Each of them has their place [providing every service niche that is needed].”

The cells that Ugarte describes may consist of 4, 5 or more individuals, or they may include over 100 people. The larger organizations are, generally, cells that since their beginnings dedicated themselves to illicit drug trafficking. They therefore had already dominated smuggling routes, had set up security and where experienced in human exploitation. Ugarte, “Therefore, this is a high risk business. There are many zones where I cannot go, not only in Mexico but right here, north of San Diego, California, because large criminal organizations operate in these sectors, including Russian, Chinese and Mexican mafias,” says Ugarte.

Southern California is a hotbed

Ugarte’s organization (the BSCC) is located on National City Boulevard, a few yards from the San Diego city limits. The zone is close to the local naval base, and when their office closes its doors, it becomes a street prostitution walk where foreign women offer sex.

In her offices, Ugarte points to a map that highlights the red zones of prostitution. One of those red zones is in front of her own offices. Many women and men are forced to sell theire bodies here, but the authorities don’t investigate these cases as human trafficking.

Ugarte, “There is a lot of racism in this as well, and many special interests. The reasoning that investigating agencies use is that [they don’t like the fact that] a victim of trafficking can look forward to obtaining a humanitarian [“T”] visa [as a victim of trafficking]. Therefore, the authorities prefer to treat the case as one of common delinquency.”

The phenomenon of trafficking is not limited to sex work. In 2010 the Center for Social Advocacy (el Centro de Promoción Social - a coalition of San Diego human rights organizations) and Cornell University conducted a surbvey of 505 members of the local immigrant community. Some 321 people reported experiences that quality as being cases of [labor] trafficking. The victims fall into two categories. The first group faced low wages and threats. The second group were hidden by their traffickers and were forced to perform dangerous jobs under threat that their families would be harmed if they escaped…

Southern California [in the U.S.] is a hotbed of human rights and labor violations, but it has also been an epicenter of forced prostitution perpetrated in farm labor camps for at least a decade, says Heriberto García, the human rights prosecutor for Baja California state. We know this through our interactions with organizations that work on the U.S. side of the border. García’s offices hold ample testimony from victims showing that girls and women from between the ages of 16 and 45 are routinely kidnapped from the central and southern regions of Mexico, and especially from the states of Guanajuato, Puebla, Tlaxcala and Oaxaca.

El Universal

Sep. 19, 2011