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 CARACAS 00000212 002 OF 007 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 CARACAS 00000212 003 OF 007 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 CARACAS 00000212 004 OF 007 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 CARACAS 00000212 005 OF 007 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 CARACAS 00000212 006 OF 007 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 CARACAS 00000212 007 OF 007 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