Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09GUATEMALA197
2009-03-03 17:15:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Guatemala
Cable title:  

GUATEMALA'S INPUT FOR 2009 TIP REPORT

Tags:  KTIP ELAB KCRM KFRD KWMN PGOV PHUM PREF SMIG ASEC GT 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO9751
PP RUEHLA
DE RUEHGT #0197/01 0621715
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 031715Z MAR 09 ZDK CYSVC MANAGUA 265
FM AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7044
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 5104
RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA 0030
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 13 GUATEMALA 000197 

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (TAGS CORRECTION)

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR G/TIP AND G ACBLANK
DEPT ALSO FOR INL, DRL, PRM, WHA/CEN, AND WHA/PPC
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USAID FOR LAC/CAM KSEIFERT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KFRD KWMN PGOV PHUM PREF SMIG ASEC GT
SUBJECT: GUATEMALA'S INPUT FOR 2009 TIP REPORT
(APRIL 2008 - FEBRUARY 2009)

REF: A. STATE 5577

B. 08 STATE 132759

C. 08 GUATEMALA 1450

D. 08 GUATEMALA 327

GUATEMALA 00000197 001.2 OF 013


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 13 GUATEMALA 000197

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (TAGS CORRECTION)

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR G/TIP AND G ACBLANK
DEPT ALSO FOR INL, DRL, PRM, WHA/CEN, AND WHA/PPC
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USAID FOR LAC/CAM KSEIFERT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KFRD KWMN PGOV PHUM PREF SMIG ASEC GT
SUBJECT: GUATEMALA'S INPUT FOR 2009 TIP REPORT
(APRIL 2008 - FEBRUARY 2009)

REF: A. STATE 5577

B. 08 STATE 132759

C. 08 GUATEMALA 1450

D. 08 GUATEMALA 327

GUATEMALA 00000197 001.2 OF 013



1. Below is post input (keyed to ref B) on anti-trafficking
efforts undertaken by the Guatemalan government between April
2008 and February 2009 in the areas of prevention, protection
of and assistance to trafficked victims, and investigation
and prosecution of traffickers. While challenges remain,
especially in the area of prosecution, the GOG is committed
to addressing those challenges and has made progress in
combating human trafficking despite limited resources. In
view of GOG efforts during the reporting period, in
particular its passage of important anti-trafficking reform
legislation and increased investigations, Embassy recommends
that Guatemala be removed from the Tier 2 Watch List. Such
action will not only reinforce ongoing efforts but will
encourage the GOG to continue and expand its efforts to
vigorously combat trafficking as part of a global effort.


2. Embassy's point of contact on trafficking in persons is
Poloff Lucy Chang (FS-02),tel.: (502) 2326-4635, fax (502)
2334-8474. She spent 45 hours in the preparation of this
report.

Guatemala's TIP Situation
--------------

A. The sources of available credible information on
trafficking in persons are NGOs, including organizations
implementing USG-funded anti-TIP projects, and limited
anecdotal information provided by trafficked victims
themselves. The GOG, in collaboration with NGOs, seeks to
document human trafficking. As part of its national 10-year
plan of strategic action, the government plans to document
and analyze the trafficking situation, at both the national

and regional levels, and to study its relationship to other
societal problems, such as commercial sexual exploitation,
labor exploitation, and alien smuggling. The aalysis will
look at factors such as age, gender,and socio-economic
status that contribute to victims' vulnerability.
Participating institutions of the Guatemalan Inter-Agency
Commission to Combat Trafficking in Persons managed and
shared databases on trafficking. The GOG is in the process
of creating a unified database to facilitate follow-up on
trafficking cases.


B. Guatemala continued to be a country of origin, transit,
and destination for internationally trafficked victims.
Trafficking occurred within the country, particularly in
border areas and other outlying areas of weak government
control, as well as transnationally across its borders. Due
to the clandestine nature of human trafficking, which often
camouflaged as other types of licit and illicit activities,
and the lack of reporting and tracking mechanism, there were
no reliable estimates on the actual extent or magnitude of
the problem. Although the National Civilian Police (PNC)
provided year-end crime statistics, there were no reliable
estimates of trafficking victims, nor reliable information on
the origins and destinations of victims, or methods and
motives of traffickers. Information provided by NGOs
continued to suggest the existence of networks of
Qcontinued to suggest the existence of networks of
transnational sexual traffickers operating in the region,
primarily transporting victims from El Salvador, Honduras,
and Nicaragua to Guatemala. Central American women and girls
continued to be trafficked and sold in brothels in Mexico,
Belize, and the United States. The majority of the victims
were young women between 19 and 25 years of age, with the
number of underage victims reportedly increasing. Casa
Alianza estimated that at least 15,000 minors were sexually
exploited in Guatemala. According to UNICEF, 80 percent of
these minors were girls. The Social Movement for the Rights
of Children, Adolescents, and Youth in Guatemala reported
that there were at least 230 brothels that sexually exploited
girls. The PNC reported that there were 800 prostitution
houses nationwide.


C. The Comprehensive Health Association (ASI) anti-TIP
project coordinator reported that many girls from poor

GUATEMALA 00000197 002.2 OF 013


indigenous areas in western Guatemala, some as young as 12 or
13 years of age, were working 12-16 hours a day as domestic
workers in the capital without overtime pay or other
benefits, and in many instances employers were deducting the
costs of food and housing from their pay. Most of these
young domestic workers, despite the difficulties they faced,
did not return to their communities because they had no other
options. Ten impoverished young Guatemalan women who
allegedly were forced to work as prostitutes in the U.S.
reported having sex with up to 30 clients a day. Several
were forced to work even when ill. They testified that they
were constantly watched by procurers and were beaten and
threatened with violence, even witchcraft, to keep them from
attempting to escape.

NGO reports confirmed the continuing occurrence of labor
exploitation south of the Mexican border where Guatemalan
minors were recruited to beg in the streets and to work in
the municipal dump. In some cases, these minors were also
believed to be victims of sexual exploitation. Labor
exploitation of men and women was also documented among
agricultural migrant workers in southern Mexico along the
Guatemalan border.


D. Women, children, and migrants continued to be at greater
risk of being trafficked than other sectors of the
population. In particular, girls and young women from poor
families or abusive homes, and those attempting to migrate to
the U.S. in search of employment opportunities continued to
be the most vulnerable to trafficking. Trafficking was
particularly prevalent in villages along the country's
border. Under-age migrants who did not cross the border into
Mexico often remained in the country and resorted to or were
forced into prostitution. Women and children were also
transported from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras by
organized rings that forced them into prostitution.


E. Traffickers ranged from independent business people to
small family businesses to regional organized crime networks.
According to the PNC, traffickers generally operated in
small- to medium-sized informal networks, which did not
involve organized crime but included Nicaraguans,
Salvadorans, and Colombians utilizing authentic but illegally
issued Guatemalan identification documents, typically
originating from municipal authorities in rural parts of the
country. False documents were used to conceal both age and
citizenship status of victims. Traffickers often had links
to other organized crime, including drug trafficking and
alien smuggling.

Traffickers utilized various modes of operation, including
use of commercial enterprises, such as bars and brothels.
Some bar or brothel owners engaged in trafficking to recruit
workers for their businesses, while other traffickers
operated independently of other commercial activities.
Sometimes victims themselves returned to their villages to
recruit new victims. Most victims were lured by promises of
travel, study, or work, including offers of employment as
waitresses, domestic workers, or factory workers, or were
exploited in their desire to migrate to the U.S. in search of
Qexploited in their desire to migrate to the U.S. in search of
work opportunities or reunion with family members.
Impoverished young women lured by the promise of legitimate
jobs in the U.S. were forced into prostitution under debt
bondage after being smuggled into the U.S. A relatively
small number of victims may have known they would be working
as prostitutes, but nevertheless were enticed by offers of
better working conditions. Trafficked victims were not
usually kept as slaves; instead, traffickers created
conditions of economic, psychological, and often drug
dependency. In many cases, victims resisted rescue. There
was no reliable information on whether employment, travel, or
tourism agencies or marriage brokers were involved in
trafficking.

Traffickers reportedly altered their modus operandi after
Guatemala passed a restrictive national adoption law,
compliant with the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption,
on December 12, 2007. The law took effect December 31, 2007.
Pregnant Guatemalan women were transported to other

GUATEMALA 00000197 003.2 OF 013


countries, such as Spain, where the women gave birth and
where adoptive parents registered the babies as their own.
The Public Ministry reported that traffickers utilized
various violent and non-violent methods to carry out illegal
adoptions, including camouflaging them as legal adoptions.

Government's Anti-TIP Efforts
--------------

A. The government acknowledged that trafficking is a serious
problem and continued to focus its efforts to address it.
Human trafficking was a priority on the legislative agenda,
and government actors publicly acknowledged the need to
vigorously address it. The government faced numerous
challenges, including lack of resources, systemic corruption,
reluctance of victims and witnesses to testify, and a high
level of impunity and violence.


B. Twenty-seven organizations, including 19 government
agencies, were involved in anti-trafficking efforts as part
of the Inter-Agency Commission to Combat Trafficking in
Persons, which was established by government decree in July
2007 under a renewable two-year mandate. Led by the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs under the Director of Migration Affairs,
the commission coordinates the government's anti-trafficking
efforts in accordance with its international commitments and
domestic laws. It is comprised of representatives of various
Executive agencies, as well as international organizations
and local NGOs, and is organized into three sub-commissions
focused on prevention, attention to the victim, and the
application of justice. The commission meets regularly on a
bi-monthly basis, as well as on an ad hoc basis, as
necessary. It met three times during the reporting period.


Both the Public Ministry (Attorney General's Office) and the
PNC have dedicated anti-TIP units. The Public Ministry's
Anti-TIP unit, established in November 2007 within the
Special Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime, raised the
profile of trafficking in persons and improved the model of
investigation and prosecution of TIP crimes. Formerly housed
within the Special Prosecutor's Office for Women, the new
unit provided greater visibility and focus to human
trafficking during the reporting period. The staff of 12
worked in close collaboration with the PNC and NGOs.
According to the unit's chief prosecutor, approximately 80
percent of the unit's current caseload is illegal adoption,
which is defined as trafficking in persons under Guatemalan
law. Of the 50 current TIP cases he has filed, seven involve
trafficking of minors for sexual exploitation. There are no
pending cases of adult sexually exploited TIP victims or
forced labor victims.


C. The government's ability to address the problem of
trafficking in persons was limited by weak institutional
capacity, infiltration of organized crime into government
agencies, systemic corruption within the PNC, inadequate
funding for police and other government institutions, lack of
resources to aid victims, and lack of willing victims and
witnesses to prosecute trafficking offenders. Funding for
the special anti-TIP units, as for most Guatemalan government
agencies, remained inadequate. During the reporting period,
Qagencies, remained inadequate. During the reporting period,
the Public Ministry's anti-TIP unit had a limited budget, 12
staff, and three vehicles. Funding for its operation
depended on the Public Ministry's annual budget, which did
not allocate funds specifically for the anti-TIP unit.
Government actions continued to depend heavily on technical
and financial support from local NGOs and international
donors. Government officials and NGOs cited as serious
impediments to effective law enforcement the high level of
impunity for all crimes and rampant corruption, which often
led to leaks of information on impending raids and
investigations to criminal targets. They stressed the need
for additional resources to train judges and police
investigators, provide greater assistance to victims, and
strengthen the Public Ministry's inadequate witness
protection program.

According to the PNC, no funds were allocated to law
enforcement to focus specifically on TIP. Funding for

GUATEMALA 00000197 004.2 OF 013


anti-TIP efforts was part of the overall PNC budget. Its
anti-TIP unit had only five police agents and one vehicle to
conduct anti-TIP operations throughout the country, and
lacked a surveillance mechanism to properly investigate TIP
crimes. Members of civil society noted that judges lacked
proper training on TIP issues and working with minors. They
also pointed to systemic weaknesses, including institutional
corruption, lack of coordination among key law enforcement
and justice sector agencies, lack of female police officers,
and lack of continuity and institutional knowledge in the PNC
due to frequent staff turnover. They noted that the PNC's
lack of institutional continuity limited the long-term impact
of training efforts. Notwithstanding these numerous
challenges, the individuals working in the Public Ministry
and PNC special anti-TIP units were generally regarded as
competent and dedicated.


D. The Inter-Agency Commission to Combat Trafficking in
Persons, led by the Foreign Ministry, provided an open,
collaborative forum for discussion of legislative proposals
and projects, and coordination of efforts. It met three
times during the reporting period to discuss activities
carried out by participating agencies. A year-end summary
report of its activities was not available at the time of
submission of this report.

Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers
--------------

A. On February 18, Congress unanimously approved a bill
against sexual violence, exploitation, and trafficking in
persons. The passage of the bill was the culmination of
seven years of effort and numerous drafts. The bill,
introduced in Congress in August 2008, provides a
comprehensive legal framework, based on the Palermo Protocol,
for the prevention of TIP and related crimes, protection of
victims, and prosecution of traffickers. It creates a
secretariat attached to the Vice President's Office to
coordinate GOG efforts to combat sex crimes and trafficking
in persons. The secretariat has a budget of Q5 million
(approx. USD 641,026) for the initial year of its operation,
including funding for compensation to victims of these
crimes. The law also establishes a process for repatriation
of trafficked victims, and focuses on protection of minors.
It penalizes not only traffickers but also those who use the
services of trafficked persons and sexually exploited
victims, including victims of child pornography. It also
increases the penalty for trafficking in persons from 6-12
years to 8-18 years in prison, imposes a fine of Q300,000 -
500,000 (approx. USD 38,462 - 64,103),and modifies several
TIP-related provisions in the Penal Code. Wiretapping and
undercover operations, permissible under the Law Against
Organized Crime, may be used to investigate and prosecute
traffickers.

The new Law Against Sexual Violence, Exploitation, and
Trafficking in Persons (Law 09-2009) defines the crime of
trafficking in persons under new Article 202(3) of the Penal
Code. The final text of the approved legislation was not
available at the time of submission of this report. Article
Qavailable at the time of submission of this report. Article
202(3),in the near-final draft text provided to post on
February 25, states (in non-official translation from
Spanish):

The crime of trafficking in persons consists of the
co-optation, transport, transfer, retention, harboring, or
reception of one or more persons for the purpose of
exploitation. Whoever commits this crime will be sanctioned
with eight to 18 ears in prison and a fine of 300,000 to
500,000 uetzales. Consent given by the trafficked victim or
by the victim's legal representative will not be considered.

For purposes of the crime of trafficking in persons,
exploitation is understood as: prostitution, any other form
of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, any type of
labor exploitation, begging, any form of slavery, servitude,
sale of persons, extraction and trafficking of organs and
human tissues, and recruitment of minors for organized crime
groups, illegal adoption, illegal adoption process,
pornography, forced pregnancy, or servile or forced

GUATEMALA 00000197 005.2 OF 013


matrimony.

Article 202(4),Remuneration for Trafficking in Persons,
states: Whoever, for oneself or for others, through
exploitation activities referred to as the crime of
trafficking in persons, provides or promises to another
person or to others an economic benefit or any other benefit,
will be sanctioned with a prison sentence of six to eight
years.

The penalty established in the previous paragraph will
increase by two-thirds if the remuneration is for
exploitation of persons less than 14 years of age, and will
double if the trafficked victim is less than 10 years of age.


Guatemala's existing law against TIP, Article 194 of the
Penal Code (enacted in July 1973 and amended in March 2005),
prohibits trafficking in persons for both sexual and labor
exploitation. It states (in non-official translation from
Spanish):

Whoever, in any way, promotes, induces, facilitates,
finances, collaborates, or participates in the co-optation,
transport, transfer, harboring, or receipt of one or more
persons by means of threat, force or other forms of coercion,
fraud, deceit, abuse of power, kidnapping, or a situation of
vulnerability or concession or receipt of payments or
benefits to obtain the consent of a person who has authority
over another, for the purpose of exploitation, prostitution,
pornography, or any other form of sexual exploitation, will
be sentenced to six to 12 years in prison.

The same sanction applies to whoever, taking advantage of the
circumstances outlined in the previous paragraph, subjects
another person to begging, forced labor or services, servile
matrimony, illegal adoption, slavery or similar practices.
Consent given by the trafficked victim or the victim's legal
representative if the victim is a minor will not be
considered an attenuating circumstance for any of the forms
of exploitation described. The penalty will be increased by
a third if the victim is a minor, disabled, or elderly. If
the victim is a minor, this crime will be considered to have
been committed even if none of the means outlined in the
first paragraph of this article was used. If the victim
suffers physical harm, the penalty will be increased by
two-thirds. In the case of the victim's death, the
corresponding penalty will be applied.

Other laws used to prosecute TIP cases include prohibitions
in the Penal Code against rape, corruption of minors, and
procuring or pandering, and prohibitions in the Immigration
Law against hiring illegal immigrants.

Article 173 (Rape)
Article 174 (Aggravated Rape)
Article 175 (Qualified Rape)
Article 176 (Rape or Ravishment by Inexperience or Trust)
Article 177 (Rape or Ravishment by Deceit)
Article 178 (Aggravated Rape or Ravishment)
Article 188 (Corruption of Minors)
Article 189 (Aggravated Corruption of Minors)
Article 191 (Procuring or Pandering)
Article 192 (Aggravated Procuring or Pandering)

Article 107 of Immigration Law (Decree 95-98)(Hiring Illegal
Immigrants)
Article 108 of Immigration Law (Decree 95-98)(Hiring of Minor
Illegal Immigrants)

According to the Chief Prosecutor of the anti-TIP unit,
currently there are no non-criminal statutes that provide for
Qcurrently there are no non-criminal statutes that provide for
civil penalties for trafficking, e.g., civil forfeiture laws
or laws against illegal debts. The new legislation
establishes a fund for compensation to victims of trafficking
and sexual exploitation and a mechanism for civil penalties.


B. Article 194 of the Penal Code imposes a penalty of six to
12 years in prison for trafficking in persons for sexual or

GUATEMALA 00000197 006.2 OF 013


labor exploitation, with an automatic increase by one-third
if the victim is a minor, elderly person, or disabled person,
and by two-thirds if the victim suffers physical harm.

The new Law Against Sexual Violence, Exploitation, and
Trafficking in Persons imposes a prison sentence of eight to
18 years and a fine of Q300,000 to Q500,000 (approx. 38,462 -
64,103) for trafficking in persons for sexual or labor
exploitation. Sentences are automatically increased by
one-third for certain aggravated circumstances, e.g., if the
crime was committed by more than two persons, if the victim
received death threats or was treated cruelly during the
commission of the crime, if the trafficker was the victim's
relative or guardian, or public official or professional in
the exercise of his official duties. Sentences are
automatically increased by two-thirds if the victim is 14 but
less than 18 years of age, and by three-quarters if the
victim is 10 but less than 14 years of age, and doubled if
the victim is less than 10 years of age.


C. The penalty for trafficking for labor exploitation is the
same as that for sexual exploitation. Article 194 of the
Penal Code provides for criminal sanctions against labor
recruiters who engage in recruitment of workers using
knowingly fraudulent or deceptive offers with the purpose of
subjecting workers to trafficking in the destination country.
It also penalizes employers or labor agents who confiscate
workers' passports or travel documents for the purpose of
trafficking, or who switch contracts without the worker's
consent or withhold payment of salary as a means of keeping
the worker in a state of service.


D. The prescribed penalty for rape (Article 173) is six to 12
years in prison (up to 50 years in prison for aggravated
circumstances). The prescribed penalty under the new law is
eight to 12 years in prison.


E. During the reporting period, its initial year of
operation, the Public Ministry's anti-TIP unit received 131
complaints of TIP, including illegal adoptions. (Note: The
existing anti-TIP provision, as well as the new legislation,
considers illegal adoption a form of TIP.) According to the
Chief Prosecutor, of the 131 complaints, 15 percent involved
sexual or labor exploitation. Fifteen individuals were
accused and 5 were sentenced. The Chief Prosecutor noted a
decrease in the number of complaints of child kidnappings,
which he attributed in part to the adoption law passed in
December 2007.

The Ministry initiated criminal proceedings against 55
suspected trafficking offenders. In August, the prosecutor's
office in Jalapa convicted a defendant on human trafficking
charges, obtaining a sentence of six years' imprisonment.
The Chief Prosecutor of the anti-TIP unit stated that he
handled all of the cases in his unit as TIP cases, but the
courts often brought charges under other legal provisions,
most commonly the prohibition on corruption of minors or
contracting of illegal aliens. He observed that it is very
difficult to treat adult prostitutes as TIP victims without
the testimonies of the victims. In many cases, TIP crimes
are not prosecuted because the victim refuses to testify.
Qare not prosecuted because the victim refuses to testify.
According to the Chief Prosecutor, 95 percent of cases depend
on victim testimony. He anticipates that the new
legislation, which does not specify the means of committing
the crime of trafficking and, therefore, is less dependent on
victim testimony, will result in more prosecutions. In
collaboration with other GOG institutions, the Secretariat of
Social Welfare is seeking to implement a strategy to raise
awareness among the population on the importance of greater
participation in reporting crimes to change the culture of
impunity.

According to the Public Ministry's anti-TIP unit, the
government conducted 12 raids on commercial establishments
and rescued approximately 45 sexually exploited victims
during the reporting period. According to the Human Rights
Ombudsman's Office, Office of the Defense of Children and
Youth, three Nicaraguan minors were rescued during the last
trimester of 2008. During the reporting period, the PNC

GUATEMALA 00000197 007.2 OF 013


ordered the closure of three clandestine dens, where minors
and other undocumented persons were found.

As of December 2008, the Public Ministry reported receiving
5,985 complaints of sexual crimes, and obtaining 237
convictions of sexual offenders.


F. The government, in collaboration with civil society,
provided specialized training for government officials in how
to recognize, investigate, and prosecute instances of
trafficking. The Public Ministry worked with ECPAT to train
government officials on crimes of sexual commercial
exploitation with an emphasis on trafficking of children.
ECPAT provided training to more than 320 government officials
nationwide, including all employees of the National Tourism
Institute, and to an additional 90 government officials,
including police and prosecutors, assigned to the departments
of Peten, Jutiapa, and Chiquimula.


G. The Guatemalan government cooperated with other
governments in the investigation and prosecution of
trafficking cases. During the reporting period, according to
the Public Ministry, there were 20 cooperative international
investigations on trafficking. Guatemala requested legal
assistance in five cases, while Colombia, El Salvador, and
Honduras requested legal assistance from Guatemala in 15
cases.


H. The Guatemalan constitution does not prohibit extradition
of its own nationals; however, an extradition treaty is
required. Guatemala has a bilateral extradition treaty with
the United States. That treaty does not specify trafficking
in persons among the crimes for which extradition is
prescribed. It does, however, list "kidnapping of minors or
adults," defined as "the abduction or detention of a person
or persons in order to exact money from them or their
families, or for any unlawful end." Guatemala also has a
multilateral extradition treaty with the governments of other
Central American countries, which requires that the crime be
punishable by no less than two years' imprisonment in both
countries. In practice, the extradition process is lengthy
and complicated. During the reporting period, the government
did not extradite any alleged traffickers. There are no
pending trafficking extraditions.


I. There were credible reports that police and immigration
service agents were complicit in trafficking or leaking
information on imminent raids of brothels and other
commercial establishments to criminal targets. An NGO
reported that some minor victims of trafficking claimed that
immigration officials took bribes from traffickers, gave the
victims falsified identification papers, and allowed them to
cross borders. There were credible reports that brothel
owners allowed police and immigration officials to have sex
with minor victims without charge. Another NGO reported that
business owners of massage clubs and other establishments
that sexually exploited adolescents had good relations with
government authorities who warned these businesses of
upcoming police raids. There were no details on the extent
or magnitude of the problem, but there were indications that
some networks involved high-level officials. On August 1,
Qsome networks involved high-level officials. On August 1,
2008, a criminal court ordered the arrest of the sister of
Congressman Gudy Rivera (then president of the Congressional
Committee on Minors and Children) of the Patriot Party for
her alleged involvement in a baby kidnapping. She was
charged with trafficking in persons and conspiracy. In May
2008, she was detained during a police raid after police
discovered that she was operating a clandestine child care
center and adoption business in her home.


J. The PNC, through its Office of Professional Responsibility
and its Inspector General's Office, focused on identifying
and investigating corruption within its ranks and dismissing
corrupt officers. During the reporting period, 12 public
officials, including private sector lawyers entrusted with
public duties, public notaries, and civil registry
secretaries, were charged and investigated for involvement in
illegal adoptions. None of them have yet been convicted; the
cases are ongoing.

GUATEMALA 00000197 008.2 OF 013




K. Prostitution is legal. The legal minimum age for
prostitution is 18. While the Penal Code does not
criminalize the activities of prostitutes who are at least 18
years of age, procuring and inducing a person into
prostitution are crimes that can result in fines and
imprisonment, with heavier penalties if minors are involved.
Trafficking in persons for the purpose of prostitution is
illegal. The Penal Code criminalizes the activities of
brothel owners/operators and procurers. The laws most often
applied against brothel owners/operators and procurers are
the laws against procuring, corruption of minors, and
contracting of illegal aliens. The Penal Code does not
criminalize the activities of clients. Under the new law
against sexualviolence, exploitation, and trafficking in
persos, clients will be sanctioned.

According to the Public Ministry, owners of night clubs and
brothels have changed their way of doing business, opening
formerly private businesses as public corporations
("sociedades anonimas") under names of legal representatives
to evade detection and arrest. During the reporting period,
the anti-TIP unit opened four cases against legal
representatives of such businesses.


L. During the reporting period, there were no reports of any
Guatemalan national deployed abroad as part of a peacekeeping
or other similar mission who engaged in or facilitated severe
forms of trafficking or who exploited victims of such
trafficking.


M. Child sex tourism was not a widespread problem in
Guatemala; however, there were credible reports of a nascent
industry in certain areas. UNICEF has been working with the
Guatemalan tourism board to raise awareness. It developed a
code of conduct with the Guatemalan Tourism Institute and the
Guatemalan Chamber of Tourism (INGUAT-CAMTUR) and the
Guatemalan Institute for Technical Training (INTECAP) to
discourage the use of tourist activities and services,
including taxi drivers and tour operators, for sexual
exploitation. A local NGO that works on trafficking issues
and with trafficked victims is developing an agreement with
hotels in Antigua and Guatemala City to place notices,
modeled on those in Thailand and the Philippines, prohibiting
unaccompanied minors from entering hotel rooms of foreigners
without proper authorization. During the reporting period,
the government did not prosecute or deport/extradite any
foreign pedophiles. One U.S. citizen remained detained on
charges of sexual child abuse, pending trial. The Chief
Prosecutor of the anti-TIP unit was not aware of any cases of
Guatemalan nationals engaging in child sex tourism during the
reporting period.

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

A. The government had limited resources to adequately protect
victims and witnesses. In most cases, victims preferred not
to file legal complaints out of fear of reprisal and/or lack
of confidence in the justice system and the witness
protection program. The overall impunity rate for homicides
was at least 93 percent, according to the International
Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG),and was
QCommission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG),and was
worse for other kinds of crime.


B. The government operated victim care facilities that were
accessible to trafficked victims and offered social services,
job training, and counseling. The Secretariat of Social
Welfare, which is legally mandated to attend to persons under
18 years of age, operated 37 day care centers for children up
to 12 years of age, seven 24-hour shelters for trafficked
victims, children from dysfunctional or domestically violent
families, and abandoned minors under 18 years of age, and two
juvenile detention centers. Its shelter in Quetzaltenango
housed approximately 30 children per month. In December
2008, Congress approved an increase of Q180 million (approx.
USD 23 million) to the Secretariat's annual budget. Most
minor victims were referred by the GOG to NGOs, particularly
Casa Alianza, for care and protective custody. Casa
Alianza/Guatemala, which closed on January 16, 2009 due to a

GUATEMALA 00000197 009.2 OF 013


USD 6.5 million budget cut to its parent organization,
estimated that 300 children were referred to them each year.
Foreign victims were provided the same access to care as
domestic trafficked victims. A shelter run by the General
Directorate of Immigration included a dedicated area for
attention to adult and foreign trafficked victims.



C. The government provided trafficked victims with access to
legal, medical, and psychological services by referring them
to NGOs that were able to provide comprehensive care. The
Public Ministry, as state prosecutor, pursued criminal
proceedings against traffickers. The Secretariat of Social
Welfare provided educational and occupational skills
workshops, as well as social services and assistance with
legal proceedings. The government did not provide funding to
NGOs for services to trafficked victims, but did collaborate
closely with NGOs on anti-trafficking efforts through
exchange of information, participation in awareness-raising
campaigns, drafting of anti-TIP reform legislation, and raids
of commercial establishments to rescue trafficked victims.



D. The Guatemala government did not provide temporary or
permanent residency status or other relief from deportation
to foreign trafficked victims. It attended to foreign adult
victims in an area dedicated to trafficking victims within a
shelter run by the General Directorate of Immigration. Adult
foreign trafficked victims were referred to their respective
consulates in country. Foreign minors were not, as a matter
of policy, deported. The Foreign Ministry contacted the
respective consulates, and minor victims were referred to the
Secretariat of Social Welfare and soon thereafter repatriated
to their countries of origin, in accordance with the National
Protocol for the Repatriation of Child and Adolescent Victims
of Trafficking. Guatemala has repatriation agreements for
minor victims of trafficking with El Salvador, Nicaragua,
Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama.


E. The government, with NGO assistance, provided longer-term
shelter and other resources to aid victims in rebuilding
their lives. The Secretariat of Social Welfare, through its
multi-disciplinary team, administered various social programs
throughout the reporting period, including a program for the
prevention of domestic violence and a program to reduce
social risk among street children, migrants, and victims of
sexual exploitation. It also administered government
subsidies to families living in poverty, and coordinated an
anti-TIP program in Solala, which, according to the
Secretariat, has become a magnet for trafficking in persons.
During the reporting period, the Secretariat focused on ways
to strengthen the institution, expand its coverage to provide
services to more people, and decentralize its administrative
functions. It conducted a study that profiles the areas with
the greatest incidence of domestic violence and a study of
the departments with the highest levels of social risk. It
established eight regional offices, with funding provided by
the central office and with direct participation by regional
office directors in municipal-level development councils.
Qoffice directors in municipal-level development councils.
Its decentralization plan has enabled direct contact between
the Secretariat and the poorest municipalities throughout the
country.


F. The government has a referral process to transfer victims
detained, arrested, or placed in protective custody by law
enforcement authorities to institutions that provide short-
or long-term care. The Secretariat of Social Welfare is in
the process of installing 16 courts throughout the country,
one per department, to expedite cases involving children and
adolescents.


G. There were no reliable estimates of trafficked victims
during the reporting period. The Secretariat of Social
Welfare handled 504 child protection cases, including cases
of sexually exploited minors. ECPAT/Guatemala attended to
100 trafficked victims, while Casa Alianza/Guatemala assisted
24 sexually exploited minors, and continued to attend to 64
sexually exploited minors from previous years. During the
reporting period, Casa Alianza/Guatemala received a total of

GUATEMALA 00000197 010.2 OF 013


430 cases, including 245 referred by judicial order.


H. The GOG has a mechanism for identifying victims of
trafficking among high-risk populations with whom government
officials come in contact. Its Standard Operating Procedures
provide instructions on how to process sex crimes, including
specific provisions on how to assist TIP victims. The
government also developed and implemented a referral process
to transfer minor victims who were placed in protective
custody by law enforcement authorities to NGOs that provide
long-term care. The government has a mechanism for screening
for trafficked victims among persons involved in the legal
commercial sex trade. In collaboration with civil society,
it conducted raids on night clubs and other commercial
establishments possibly involved in the sex trade, with the
aim of rescuing domestic as well as foreign victims of
commercial sexual exploitation, including trafficked victims.
The GOG reported that these efforts contributed to the
rescue of approximately 45 trafficked victims.


I. The government generally respected the rights of
trafficked victims. The government did not arrest, detain,
fine, or jail trafficked victims. It did not prosecute
victims for violations of immigration laws or any other laws.
Foreign undocumented adult trafficked victims were deported
to their countries of origin, while minor victims were sent
to Casa Alianza or a government-run shelter for attention and
care. A shelter in Guatemala City provided temporary housing
for undocumented aliens, including victims of trafficking,

A government-run 24-hour call center, staffed by trained
professional counselors, provided information on human
trafficking to the general public, and psychological support
and referral assistance to trafficked victims and other
victims. The call center raised public awareness, improved
the channels of communication between victims and assistance
providers, and focused greater attention on and follow-up of
trafficking cases.


J. The Public Ministry, in collaboration with civil society,
continued to encourage victims to assist in the investigation
and prosecution of trafficking and provided support, upon
request, through its Office of Witness Protection. The
government encouraged victims to file legal action against
traffickers by instituting a call center through which
victims could file complaints and the government could
provide follow-up on cases. Victims were able to participate
in criminal proceedings against traffickers and to seek
redress for damage as third party plaintiffs. However, few
trafficked victims filed complaints or assisted in the
investigation and prosecution of traffickers. Victims tended
to protect the traffickers. In addition, minors, many of
whom had either false documents or no documents, were
reluctant to admit their under-age status. A few individuals
did testify, which led to convictions for corruption of
minors and contracting of illegal aliens. There was no
information available as to the actual number of victims who
assisted in the investigation and prosecution of traffickers
during the reporting period. According to the Public
Qduring the reporting period. According to the Public
Ministry's anti-TIP unit, the witness protection program
provided protection to four witnesses, including three TIP
victims, during the reporting period.

No one can legally impede victim access to legal redress.
Such redress is a right guaranteed by the Constitution and
Penal Code. In practice, however, victims' access to legal
redress was impeded by institutional corruption, a weak
judicial system, lack of security, fear of reprisal, and lack
of specially trained judges and prosecutors. A victim who is
a material witness in a court case against a former employer
may obtain other employment or leave the country and/or seek
refuge as a protected witness pending trial proceedings. The
law provides for restitution to the victim as a third party
plaintiff. Civil reparations supplement the principal
criminal proceeding that seeks to determine the culpability
of the alleged trafficker.


K. The government, in collaboration with civil society,
provided specialized training for government officials in

GUATEMALA 00000197 011.2 OF 013


identifying trafficked victims and in providing assistance to
victims, including the special needs of trafficked children.
Participating government agencies of the Inter-Agency
Commission to Combat Trafficking in Persons provided ongoing
training as part of its commitments under the National Plan
of Strategic Action, and national, bilateral, and
multilateral agreements. The training aimed to sensitize
officials responsible for anti-trafficking efforts to ensure
prompt and proper attention to victims and to prevent
re-victimization.

The government also provided training on protections and
assistance to Guatemalan consuls accredited to the U.S.,
Mexico, and neighboring Central American countries, as well
as to foreign consuls accredited to Guatemala. The training
focused on the proper application of the National Protocol
for the Repatriation of Child and Adolescent Trafficked
Victims, as well as the implementation of the Public Policy
Against Trafficking in Persons and Comprehensive Protection
to Victims. The government encouraged Guatemalan embassies
and consulates to maintain close relationships with NGOs and
international organizations that serve trafficked victims.

The GOG, based on internal information provided by its
consulates, is in the process of determining the total number
of trafficked victims assisted by Guatemalan embassies and
consulates abroad. Guatemalan consulates had primary
responsibility for the repatriation and accompaniment process
for Guatemalan trafficked victims abroad. Consular
authorities issued special travel documents for repatriation
of victims, followed up on the health conditions of victims,
and facilitated coordination among the institutions
responsible for repatriation of victims to ensure a process
that fully respects the victims' human rights. The Foreign
Ministry's central office was responsible for notifying the
appropriate institutions (the Solicitor General's Office, the
General Directorate of Immigration, and the Secretariat of
Social Welfare) on accompaniment requirements for the victim.



L. The government, through its General Directorate of
Immigration and Solicitor General's Office, received
Guatemalan trafficked victims at ports of entry and provided
accompaniment during te repatriation process. Authorities
assessed vitims' state of health, rendering medical
assistance as required. While the government did not provide
financial support, victims could file civil claims for
compensation for damage and harm. The government provided
assistance to repatriated trafficked nationals in shelters
operated by the General Directorate of Immigration, the
Secretariat of Social Welfare, and NGOs. The Secretariat of
Social Welfare received repatriated minors and reintegrated
them with their families upon their return to Guatemala. The
Secretariat also ran a shelter in Quetzaltenango for
nationals repatriated from Mexico. Minors sent to that
shelter were reunited with their families within a few days
of arrival.


M. Various international organizations and local NGOs worked
with trafficked victims. Casa Alianza/Guatemala, House of
Qwith trafficked victims. Casa Alianza/Guatemala, House of
the Migrant, House of the Woman, Our Godchildren, and the
Survivors Foundation provided direct shelter, and
comprehensive attention, including medical, legal,
psychological, and social support, to trafficked victims.
ILO/IPEC, UNICEF, Catholic Relief Services, International
Organization for Migration, International Justice Mission,
Comprehensive Health Association (ASI),and ECPAT, among
others, provided advocacy and consultation on anti-TIP
efforts and administered preventive programs. Catholic
Relief Services, through sub-grantees Human Mobility
Pastorate and the Central American Development Institute
(INCEDES),implemented a USG-funded project to increase
public awareness of trafficking. USG-funded ECPAT continued
working with the House of the Migrant in the Mexican border
area and expanded its anti-trafficking efforts to the areas
bordering Honduras and El Salvador, working in conjunction
with the justice sector authorities to combat commercial
sexual exploitation. Local authorities collaborated closely
with these NGOs. During the reporting period, Casa Alianza

GUATEMALA 00000197 012.2 OF 013


assisted 24 sexually exploited minors, and continued to
attend to 64 sexually exploited minors from previous years,
providing formal education and occupational training. ECPAT
attended to 100 trafficked victims.

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

A. The government, in collaboration with civil society,
continued its national public awareness campaign. The
primary objective of the campaign was preventing trafficking
by educating and alerting the public, particularly in
high-incident areas and at land, air, and water border
crossing points, on the dangers of trafficking networks
operating within families and communities, and increasing the
visibility of the traditionally clandestine crime. The
campaign, targeting current and potential trafficked victims,
included phone numbers of organizations that victims could
call for help. Through radio and television broadcasts,
pamphlets, posters, banners, and billboards, the campaign was
effective in reaching populations that had little knowledge
of the crime. A USG-funded NGO initiated plans to expand the
campaign, through radio spots in Spanish and three Mayan
languages in the border areas and dissemination of pamphlets,
to reach at least 5,000 persons next year. Informational
materials were disseminated to Guatemalan embassies and
consulates accredited abroad, as well as to foreign
diplomatic missions accredited to Guatemala. Catholic Relief
Services, through sub-grantee Human Mobility Pastorate,
organized public awareness fora on TIP in the critical
departments of Peten, Chiquimula, San Marcos, Huehuetenango,
and Quetzaltenango and in the Mexican border area where
persons were most vulnerable to being trafficked.

The government also conducted sensitization workshops
focusing on the theme of social risk, including street
children and sexual and labor exploitation, to members of
rural development councils in the country's interior. It
also disseminated a manual for the detection of and attention
to child and adolescent victims of commercial sexual
exploitation, which was used as a reference in all government
and NGO shelters that attended to trafficked victims.


B. Guatemala's border controls with Mexico, Belize, Honduras,
and El Salvador were inadequate. Guatemalan immigration and
law enforcement agencies lacked the capacity to monitor
immigration and emigration patterns for evidence of
trafficking and to screen for potential trafficking victims
along the borders.


C. Guatemala has a mechanism for coordination and
communication among various agencies on trafficking-related
matters. The Inter-Agency Commission to Combat Trafficking
was established by government decree in July 2007 under a
renewable two-year mandate to oversee implementation of a
national anti-TIP strategy. The Foreign Ministry, under the
Director for Migration Affairs, took the lead in coordination
efforts. The commission depends heavily on international and
NGO support.


D. In July 2008, the government approved a 10-year national
plan of action to combat trafficking in persons and to
protect victims. The Inter-Agency Commission to Combat
Trafficking in Persons, under the leadership of the Foreign
QTrafficking in Persons, under the leadership of the Foreign
Ministry and in consultation with civil society, developed
the Public Policy Against Trafficking in Persons and
Comprehensive Protection to Victims and the National Plan of
Strategic Action (2007 - 2017) to address TIP. The public
policy aims to prevent and prosecute human trafficking and to
protect victims through institutional strengthening,
application of justice, and international cooperation. The
national plan, as the core element of the public policy,
provides the overall framework for the implementation of the
policy, including the goals, strategic actions, indicators,
timeframe, and roles of the responsible public entities. The
national plan has been implemented by each of the government
agencies involved in anti-trafficking efforts.


E. The government collaborated with civil society in a
nationwide public awareness campaign to educate the public

GUATEMALA 00000197 013.2 OF 013


and to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts. In
addition, it conducted raids on brothels and other commercial
establishments to rescue sexually exploited minors and to
deter commercial sexual exploitation, and ran a 24-hour call
center to deter the demand for these acts.


F. The government participated in a public awareness campaign
to reduce international child sex tourism. During the
reporting period, according to the Public Ministry, there
were no cases of Guatemalan nationals who had engaged in
child sex tourism. In November 2008, ECPAT/Guatemala
participated in discussions on the prevention of sex tourism
at the 3rd World Congress Against Sexual Abuse and
Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. The conference, organized by ECPAT International,
drew an estimated 3,500 participants from around the world.


G. As part of mandatory pre-deployment training, the Regional
Peacekeeping Operations Training Center in Guatemala provided
extensive training on human rights, including six 50-minute
modules focused on human trafficking, to all Guatemalan
troops deployed abroad on UN peacekeeping missions and other
similar missions to ensure that they do not engage in or
facilitate trafficking or exploit trafficked victims.

Nomination of TIP Hero
--------------
Casa Alianza/Guatemala, which closed January 16, 2009 for
financial reasons, played a critical role in the prevention,
care, and follow-up of trafficked victims and abandoned
children in Guatemala for 28 years. It used a comprehensive
care model that included working with minors living in the
streets and high-risk areas to prevent them from becoming
victims of trafficking. It rescued minor trafficked victims
and provided long-term care, with formal as well as
vocational training. Its comprehensive approach ensured not
only a safe, protective environment for victims, but also
provided victims with technical, income-generating skills,
and legal support for development of cases for prosecution.
Casa Alianza compiled and disseminated important information
on trafficking, advocated for greater government response to
the trafficking issue, and actively participated in proposing
and developing legislation and policies to improve efforts to
reduce human trafficking. Its multi-disciplinary efforts
focused greater public attention to the problem of human
trafficking, especially to the care of victims, and enabled
victims to successfully reintegrate into their families and
communities and rebuild their lives.
McFarland