VENEZUELA'S 2009 TIP REPORT SUBMISSION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 CARACAS 000212

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

ALSO FOR POLAD, PASS TO AID/OTI RPORTER
WHA/PPC FOR SMILLER, G/TIP FOR BFLECK,
DEPT FOR G/TIP, G-ACBLANK, G, INL, DRL, PRM, WHA/PCC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREF SMIG ASEC ELAB KCRM KFRD KTIP KWMN
VE
SUBJECT: VENEZUELA'S 2009 TIP REPORT SUBMISSION

REF: REF: 2008 STATE 132759


1. (SBU) Per reftel, post submits the following information
for inclusion in the 2009 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report
for Venezuela. Political Officer Douglas Fisk is Embassy's
point of contact. Telephone: 58-212-907-8052; fax
58-212-907-8033; Email: FiskDA@state.gov Forty hours were
dedicated to the completion of this report.

--------------
The Country's TIP Situation
--------------


A. (SBU) Available information on trafficking in persons in
Venezuela is limited. The Government of the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela (GBRV) is generally reluctant to share
information regarding TIP with the USG. Post continues to
meet and request information from officials at the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on trafficking in persons. MFA
officials told TIP officer and Poloff that they are working
with the Ministry of Interior and Justice (MIJ) to revamp the
Ministry's webpage to include up-to-date TIP statistics as
public information. This has not occurred to date. Post
knows of no other GBRV efforts to document the scope of human
trafficking in Venezuela. Reliable sources of information
are the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR),the International Organization for Migration (IOM),
and the Women's Association for Well-Being and Reciprocal
Assistance (AMBAR).


B. (SBU) According to international organizations (IOs),
and non-governmental organizations (NGOs),Venezuela is a
source, transit, and destination country for women and
children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation
of forced labor. Women and children from Brazil, China,
Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Peru are
trafficked to and through Venezuela and subjected to
commercial and sexual exploitation or forced labor.
Venezuelans are trafficked internally, to Western Europe, and
to countries within the region. Venezuela is a transit
country for illegal migrants from other countries in the
region particularly Peru and Colombia and for Asian nations;
some of whom are believed to be trafficking victims.
According to NGO contacts, victims typically arrive in
Venezuela en route to Caribbean resort countries (Curacao and
Trinidad & Tobago) and (more recently) Mexico. Note: NGO
sources told TIP officer that many victims are transported by
small boats from the coastal areas near Falcon state and the
Paria peninsula to the Caribbean islands of Curacao and
Trinidad respectively. Sources reported that due to
Curacao,s relationship with the Netherlands, victims are
then easily moved onto Europe and more distant markets. End
Note.

There are no official statistics on the magnitude of
TIP-related problems in Venezuela. The Women's Association
for Well-Being and Reciprocal Assistance (AMBAR),a local
anti-trafficking NGO, reports assisting 26 victims of
trafficking from January - December 2008. Of these victims,
20 were minors under the age of 18. Officials at AMBAR told
TIP officer the majority of the minor victims were teenage
girls.


C. (SBU) Victims of trafficking are primarily from abroad
or from the interior of the country and later sold into
prostitution rings or placed into situations of forced labor.
Traffickers generally tend to transport victims to large
urban centers or to resort destinations. Prostitution is
prevalent in Venezuela, however post has no indication that
international child sex tourism is occurring. Post has no
reliable information regarding the conditions victims are

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trafficked into, however media reports indicate that
conditions are typically poor, whether victims are trafficked
internationally or internally.


D. (SBU) According to government officials, IOs, and NGO
contacts, women and children living in economically depressed
regions are believed to be more vulnerable to trafficking,
sexual exploitation, and forced labor than men.


E. (SBU) Organized crime groups are widely believed to be
involved in trafficking women and children to and through
Venezuela. Venezuelan-born victims are trafficked primarily
from the interior of the country and later sold into
prostitution rings or placed into forced labor. Children are
occasionally forced to work as beggars. Traffickers tend to
transport their victims to urban centers, including Caracas
and Maracaibo, and resort destinations, such as Margarita
Island or Anzoategui state. In many cases traffickers place
ads for models in regional newspapers and then lure
respondents under false pretense of employment. In poor
agricultural and fishing areas and in indigenous communities
heads of households are offered money to hire their daughters
or children to work in Venezuela's major cities or resort
towns. This occurred both internally as well as abroad.
These offers, however, often turn out to be false and the
victims were sold into the commercial sex trade or forced to
work as beggars in the streets. More recently, internal
trafficking appears to be on the rise in more remote
resource-rich areas in the Orinoco River Basin where poorly
monitored companies are located. In the border regions of
Tachira state, where political violence and FARC infiltration
are common, trafficking is also reported to occur.

--------------
THE GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-TIP EFFORTS
--------------


A. (SBU) The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela (GBRV) acknowledges that trafficking in persons is
a problem, but has not fully taken the necessary steps
towards eliminating TIP.


B. (SBU) Several government agencies are involved in
anti-trafficking efforts. Within the Ministry of Popular
Power for Interior and Justice (MPPIJ),the Crime and
Prevention Unit (CPU) has primary responsibility for
coordinating anti-TIP efforts. The Investigative and
Criminal Police Unit (CICP) also has responsibility for
trafficking cases, which it receives via a trafficking and
violence against women hotline or through other offices that
identify trafficking elements in larger cases. The National
Women's Institute (INAMUJER) serves as a liaison between
victims, anti-trafficking NGOs, and government law
enforcement agencies. The government is beginning to install
several new courts to address cases involving violence
against women, however the final scope of the new "Women's
Courts" and the extent of their involvement in anti-TIP
efforts has yet to be determined. The first of the courts
began operating in June 2008 in Caracas. Additional courts
are expected to open in Zulia, Aragua, Anzoategui, Carabobo,
Lara, Bolivar, and Trujillo states.


C. (SBU) The government lacked demonstrated law enforcement
efforts, victim assistance programs, and reliable data; all
of which limited the Government's ability to address TIP in
practice. The lack of a central coordinating body, such as a
national coordinator, also hampered Venezuela's ability to
keep and share statistics regarding TIP. Corruption is a
problem throughout Venezuelan society.


D. (SBU) Post does not have reliable information to assess

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the extent to which the government monitors its
anti-trafficking efforts. There is no indication that it
makes available, either privately or publicly, information on
its efforts to IOs or local NGOs.

-------------- --------------
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS
-------------- --------------


A. (SBU) Article 16 of the Organic Law Against Organized
Crime, passed in 2005, makes trans-border trafficking
punishable with imprisonment for 10 to 18 years. Provisions
to the 2004 Naturalization and Immigration Law could also be
applied against transnational trafficking. It stipulated
that exploiting illegal labor, falsely promising employment
to encourage immigration to another country, or encouraging
illegal immigration or smuggling/to/through/from Venezuela is
punishable by four to eight years in prison. If immigrant
smuggling is done for profit, or is accompanied by violence
or intimidation, the sentence increases to eight to ten years
in prison. If a victim's life or health is endangered, then
the range of punishment increases an additional 50 percent.
The law also punishes any public servant who encourages,
through acts or omissions, the fraudulent entry or exit of a
person, with four to eight years in prison. Laws against
forced disappearance and kidnapping, punishable by two to six
years imprisonment, can be used to prosecute traffickers. In
the case of children, the Organic Law for the Protection of
Children and Adolescents (LOPNA),stipulates that offenders
be fined one to 10 months salary for trafficking in children.
Stipulated punishment for the prostitution or corruption of
minors is as little as three months in jail; repeat offenders
may face three to 18 months imprisonment. Laws against
trafficking-related crimes generally were not enforced and
many officials failed to distinguish the difference between
traffickers and migrant smugglers.

(SBU) In March 2007, the BRV passed the Organic Law on a
Women's Right to a Violence-Free Life designed to compliment
pre-existing legislation, although punishments under the 2007
law are more severe. Specifically, it outlines criminal
punishment for 19 forms of violence against women, including
forced prostitution, sexual slavery, smuggling and
trafficking. (Note: This law, as it is currently written,
does not apply to the trafficking of adult males or boys.
End note.) Regarding forced prostitution, Article 47 of the
law punishes offenders with 15 to 20 years in prison for the
use of physical force, the threat of violence, or
psychological coercion to force a victim to perform a sexual
act for a third person. Under Article 47, the same penalty
applies to an offender convicted of sexual slavery, although
a third party does not need to be involved. Smuggling,
facilitating the illegal entry or exit of women and young
girls through false employment, coercion, or force for
monetary benefit, it punishable by 10 to 15 years in prison.
Trafficking, the use of force, fraud, or coercion to recruit,
harbor, transport, receive, or obtain a person for the
purpose of sexual exploitation, prostitution, forced labor,
slavery, irregular adoptions, and the sale or organs, is
punishable with 15 to 20 years in prison.


B. / C. (SBU) The Naturalization and Migration Law does not
specifically differentiate between trafficking of persons for
sexual exploitation and for labor exploitation. The
Organized Crime Law, however, makes trafficking in persons
and smuggling for labor and sexual exploitation punishable by
a sentence of 10 to 15 years if the victim is an adult or 10
to 18 years if the victim is a child or adolescent. In
addition, the LOPNA makes trafficking children punishable by
fines of one to ten months salary. The Organic Law on a
Women's Right to a Violence Free Life has penalties ranging

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from 10-20 years in prison. (See paragraph A above for more
detailed description of penalties.)


D. (SBU) Under the Organic Law to Prevent Violence Against
Women and the Family, passed in 1998, forcible sexual assault
or rape is punishable by eight to 14 years in prison, while
the March 2007 Law makes it punishable by 10 to 15 years.


E. (SBU) The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela (GBRV) did not respond to the TIP Officer's
repeated requests for information on its efforts to
investigate, prosecute, convict, and sentence traffickers.
Officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said they
had requested statistics on the government's law enforcement
efforts from the Ministry of Interior and Justice (MIJ),but
has not yet obtained or shared any new statistics with Post.
MFA officials told TIP officer and Poloff that they are
working with the Ministry of Interior and Justice (MIJ) to
update it's webpage to include up-to-date TIP statistics as
public information. This has not occurred to date. Although
the GBRV enacted the Organic Law on the Right of Women to a
Violence Free Life in March 2007, there is no reliable data
available on the number of trafficking cases, if any, that
have come forward as a result of the new law. The government
has also not provided updates on the two criminal
investigations opened against three trafficking suspects in
2007 or the 12 trafficking-related investigations that remain
open from previous years.


F. (SBU) In July 2008, approximately 60 government
officials attended an anti-TIP conference sponsored by the
Embassy's Narcotics Affairs Section and facilitated by
contractors from the United Nation's Office on Drugs and
Crime. Conference participants worked in the Crime
Prevention and Common Crimes Units, the Office of Fundamental
Rights, the Special Victim's Unit of the Scientific Police
(CICP),the Office of Statistics, the Human Right's
Ombudsman's Office, and the Ministry of Interior and
Justice's Family Protection Unit. Several judges and lawyers
attributed to the Attorney General's Office also
participated. International organizations and NGOs continue
to provide training to immigration, law enforcement, and
judicial officials on trafficking issues. In August and
September AMBAR conducted sexual and domestic violence
coupled with trafficking awareness workshops in the remote
Orinoco Basin city of Caicara del Orinoco. In attendance
were over 120 participants, ranging from prosecutors and
judges to members of the local national-guard and public
servants.


G. (SBU) Post has no reliable information regarding the
number, if any, of cooperative international investigations
involving trafficking. However, some in-country IOs state
that the GBRV cooperated with Interpol on trafficking issues.


H. (SBU) Post has no reliable information regarding whether
the GBRV received any request for the extradition of
traffickers. Venezuelan law prohibits the extradition of
Venezuelan nationals.


I. / J. (SBU) There is no indication that government
officials facilitated, were complicit in, or condoned
trafficking. However, corruption among immigration,
identification, customs, and border patrol officials is
widespread and could facilitate trafficking.


K. (SBU) Prostitution is legal and regulated in Venezuela.
The government issues identification cards to commercial sex
workers and they are required to undergo periodic medical
examinations. Women working as prostitutes are required to
be 18 and undergo regular health checks. Prostitutes are

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supposed to carry documents to prove they satisfy both of
these requirements.


L. (SBU) This section does not apply to Venezuela because
it does not contribute troops to international peace keeping
efforts.


M. (SBU) The government is beginning to acknowledge to a
limited degree that the prostitution of children occurs, but
post has no information to indicate that international child
sex tourism is occurring. Post has no information confirming
the countries of origin for sex tourists or the numbers of
foreign pedophiles, if any, that the government prosecutes.
There is currently no reliable information or statistics on
the scope of this problem. Prostitution does occur in large
urban cities such as Caracas, as well as in resort areas such
as Margarita Island. Local media reports indicate that when
underage children are discovered to be working in brothels,
they are typically placed into child protective custody.

--------------
Protection and Assistance to Victims
--------------


A. (SBU) The GBRV offers some protection for victims and
witnesses. Government-provided psychological and medical
examinations are available for trafficking victims. Both the
Ministry of Popular Power for Interior and Justice (MPPIJ)
and the Child Protection Council reportedly have trained
psychologists and physicians who provide these examinations
free of charge, however, comprehensive victim services such
as follow-up medical assistance, job training and
reintegration assistance are extremely limited.


B. / C. (SBU) The GBRV does not operate any shelters
dedicated solely for trafficking victims. NGOs provide the
majority of victim assistance services in Venezuela. The
Ministry of Health provided some limited funding to AMBAR to
assist with TIP prevention activities, psychological services
for victims and educational campaigns against AIDS, however,
the majority of NGOs in Venezuela receive little to no
funding for victim care facilities.


D. (SBU) There is no reliable information to assess whether
the government assisted foreign trafficking victims by
providing relief from deportation during the reporting
period. UNHCR, however, noted that in previous years it
worked with the GBRV to file asylum requests and relief from
deportation for victims who feared reprisals from traffickers
if they returned to their country of origin.


E. (SBU) Government shelters for battered women and at-risk
youth have limited space and inadequate services to meet the
needs of trafficking victims. The GBRV does not operate
shelters dedicated solely for trafficking victims.
Longer-term shelter or housing benefits specifically for
victims of TIP do not exist.


F. (SBU) The government operates a national hotline through
which it receives trafficking complaints, and refers victims
to NGOs for care. IO,s and NGOs state that the government
generally respected the rights of trafficking victims and
typically refer them to CICP, INAMUJER, or local
organizations for legal and psychological service.


G. (SBU) Post is unable to provide the total number of
trafficking victims identified during the reporting period.
The GBRV did not respond to Post's repeated requests for
information. Post was told in November by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs that the Ministry of Interior and Justice
(MIJ) would revamp its webpage to include up-to-date

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statistics as public information. This has not occurred to
date. The Women's Association for Well-Being and Reciprocal
Assistance (AMBAR),a local anti-trafficking NGO, reported
assisting 26 victims of trafficking from January - December

2008. Of these victims, 20 were minors under the age of 18.
Officials at AMBAR told TIP officer the majority of the minor
victims were teenage girls. The total number of trafficking
victims in Venezuela is likely much higher, however due to a
lack of statistics or an unwillingness to share them with the
USG, post is unable to assess the full scope of the problem.


H. (SBU) Post knows of no formal system for proactively
identifying victims of trafficking among high-risk persons.
According to anti-trafficking NGOs, the government does not
have a mechanism for screening for trafficking victims among
persons involved in the regulated commercial sex trade.


I. (SBU) IOs and NGOs state that the government generally
respected the rights of trafficking victims. Most are
referred to CICPC, INAMUJER, or local organizations for legal
and psychological services.


J. (SBU) Post does not have reliable information to assess
whether the government encourages victims to assist in the
investigation and prosecution of trafficking. The GBRV does
not share information with Post regarding any ongoing
investigations or prosecutions that may or may not be
underway. CICP officials contend that the majority of
victims prefer not to file charges because of lengthy court
delays and fears of reprisals from traffickers.


K. (SBU) IOs and NGOs offered training to government
officials on how to recognize potential trafficking victims.
Post is unable to access the GBRV,s anti-TIP training
programs managed through its embassies and consulates. Due
to strains in the current bi-lateral relationship, the GBRV
does not share information with post regarding training for
government officials. NGOs have reported to TIP Officer that
anti-TIP training workshops and programs offered during the
year were attended by government officials.


L. (SBU) Repatriated victims can make use of any services
provided by the government's mission programs. Venezuela
does not advocate restitution for victims of trafficking.


M. (SBU) The Women's Association for Well Being and
Reciprocal Assistance (AMBAR) provided trafficking victims
with legal assistance, psychological services, and job
training opportunities. In addition, dependent children
participated in AMBAR,s daycare and preschool program. The
shelter and resource center primarily focused its victim
assistance efforts in impoverished neighborhoods in the
capital city of Caracas. IOM worked to promote international
cooperation on migration issues. It continued to work with
government officials by providing some training opportunities
and workshops in TIP-related issues. UNHCR continued to
cooperate with the GBRV on a range of issues ranging from
refugees to trafficking in persons. The GBRV had adequate
resources, however, it only provided limited financial
assistance to select NGOs during the reporting period. NGOs
were highly complimentary of recent efforts by the Ministry
of Health to provide additional psychological services for
victims and promote an educational campaign on preventing TIP.

--------------
Prevention
--------------


A. (SBU) The GBRV continued to raise public awareness about
the dangers of human trafficking by airing public service
announcements and widely distributing posters and pamphlets

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against commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, and
child sex tourism. The government operated a 24-hour
victim's assistance hotline. In late January, 2009, the
GBRV agreed to provide some financial assistance to AMBAR to
conduct educational campaigns on the themes of preventing
trafficking in persons and stopping the sexual exploitation
of children. (Note: Sources at AMBAR informed TIP-Officer
they will be receiving 280,000 BsF (140,000 USD) in early
February, 2009. The NGO requested that we not publish the
amount of the grant in our annual report. End note.)


B. (SBU) Post is unable to assess the extent of the GBRV's
efforts to monitor immigration and emigration patters for
evidence of trafficking because of a lack of information
sharing. IO,s tell Post, however, that the government is
continuing to increase screening efforts at border
checkpoints, airports, and ports of entry. (Note: NGO
sources told TIP officer that many victims are transported by
small boats, thereby avoiding immigration checkpoints, from
the coastal areas near Falcon state and the Paria peninsula
to the Caribbean islands of Curacao and Trinidad
respectively. End Note.)


C. (SBU) GBRV officials did not share TIP-related
information with the Embassy in 2008. The Government's
relationship with IO's and local NGOs varied. IOM, for
instance, enjoys a positive working relationship with the
government stemming from training seminars they frequently
provide. The government also cooperated with UNHCR on TIP
issues when a victim files for refugee status fearing
reprisals from traffickers. Local NGOs have had mixed
success working with the government. While many NGOs express
frustration with the government lack of funding
opportunities, more recently AMBAR has had some degree of
success in this area. Coordination and communication between
various agencies within the government is ad-hoc at best.
The GBRV hosted the Second Regional Conference on State's
Efforts to Prevent, Combat, and Eliminate Violence Against
Women in July, 2008. Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro gave
opening remarks and noted the government plan to renew
efforts to create mechanism to identify, protect, and educate
vulnerable populations against potential traffickers.
Despite this conference, the lack of a central coordinating
body, such as a national coordinator, hampered Venezuela's
ability to fully address this problem.


D. (SBU) Although the GBRV created a working group to draft
a national plan of action to combat trafficking in persons in
2006, over two years later it has not completed the plan.
The working group is headed by the MPPIJ and includes the
CICP, DISIP (intelligence police),the Ministries of Popular
Power for Tourism, Infrastructure, and Foreign Relations, as
well as other high ranking government officials. NGOs
participated in the planning sessions and presented
proposals. NGOs representatives and members of IOs continue
to express their hope that the plan will eventually move
forward.


E. / F. (SBU) Prostitution in Venezuela is legal and
regulated. To Post's knowledge, during the reporting period
the government has not undertaken measures to reduce the
demand for commercial sex acts. The Government continued to
distribute widely posters and pamphlets against commercial
sexual exploitation, forced labor, and child sex tourism.


G. (SBU) Venezuela is not among the countries that has
contributed over 100 troops to international peacekeeping
efforts.
CAULFIELD