VZCZCXYZ0002
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSN #0409/01 0641500
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051500Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5379
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMCSUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RULSDMK/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 000409 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, WHA/PPC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB ES
SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR: 2007 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS RERPORT 
 
REF: SECSTATE 202745 
 
¶1. (U) The following is post,s responses to Reftel relative 
to the 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report.  The text tracks 
paragraphs 27 to 30 in Reftel. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
Paragraph 27: Overview of Activities to Eliminate TIP 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶A.  El Salvador is a country of origin, transit, and 
destination for internationally trafficked persons.  The 
majority of victims are females -- children and adolescents 
-- trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation.  During the 
reporting period, Salvadoran officials rescued 11 women, 
eight men, and 55 children from trafficking circumstances. 
Within El Salvador, women and girls are trafficked from the 
countryside to population centers to serve as prostitutes. 
The extent of trafficking in El Salvador is unknown; the GOES 
is searching for a creditable agency, possibly the 
International Organization for Migration (IOM), to study the 
issue and report its findings.  With respect to the number of 
victims rescued, this information is provided by the police, 
the Attorney General's office, and child protective services 
(ISNA -Instituto Salvadoreno para el Desarollo Integral de la 
Ninez).  Both the information and the sources are very 
reliable. 
 
¶B.  The most prevalent form of trafficking in persons (TIP) 
within El Salvador is for commercial sexual exploitation. 
Traffickers lure adolescent females and girls with job offers 
as waitresses or domestic servants.  After arriving to the 
place of work, the traffickers employ actual or threatened 
use of force to compel the victims to work as prostitutes. 
Traffickers include brothel owners and their agents, as well 
as the recruiters who target the victims. 
 
¶C.  El Salvador is an economically challenged country that 
lacks sufficient financial resources to adequately 
investigate and prosecute all crimes.  Due to the declining 
security situation caused by violent street gangs, most 
police and prosecutorial resources are oriented towards 
stopping and punishing homicide, aggravated assault, and 
aggravated extortion.  Despite this, the police actively 
investigate reported trafficking cases, as well as staging 
undercover operations to detect unreported cases.  Corruption 
does not seem to play a role in whether a trafficking cases 
is investigated/prosecuted or not.  Victims' assistance will 
be discussed later. 
 
¶D.  The National Committee Against Trafficking in Persons 
(the TIP task force) collects and monitors data on TIP, and 
publishes an annual Operations Plan.  Child protective 
services (ISNA) publishes statistics on trafficked children. 
 
------------------------- 
Paragraph 28: Prevention 
------------------------- 
 
¶A. The GOES readily acknowledges TIP as a problem, and 
condemns it in all forms without reservation. 
 
¶B. The National Committee Against Trafficking in Persons (the 
TIP task force) is comprised of 15 government agencies that 
encounter trafficking situations, including: the Foreign 
Ministry (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores); Department of 
Justice (Ministerio de Justicia y Paz); Dept of Treasury 
(Hacienda); Dept of Education (Educacion); Dept of Labor 
(Trabajo); Dept of Health (Salud); Dept of Tourism 
(Tourismo); the National Civilian Police (Policia Nacional 
Civil); Migration (Migracion); Family Assistance (Secretaria 
Nacional de la Familia); the Attorney General's office 
(Fiscal General); the Public Defender's office (Procuraduria 
General); the National Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa); child 
protective services (Instituto Salvadoreno para el Desarollo 
Integral de la Ninez); and women's protective services 
(Instituto Salvadoreno para el Desarollo de la Mujer.  The 
Foreign Ministry chairs the group, while each agency has 
jurisdiction over its responsibilities. 
 
¶C.  Members of the TIP task force engaged in extensive 
training and information campaigns during the reporting 
period.  Several hundreds of participants received 
GOES-sponsored TIP awareness training, including local NGOs 
and civic groups dedicated to women's, children's, and 
victim's rights.  Much of the training occurred outside the 
capital, in virtually every corner of the country.  In 
addition to training, members of the police, the foreign 
ministry, and ISNA spoke on numerous occasions in schools and 
other public forums covered by the press.  The TIP task force 
members encouraged local civic groups to make and position 
banners in public places that warn of the dangers of TIP. 
The police and Attorney General's office provided instructors 
for ILEA training that benefited officers from the entire 
hemisphere.  As evidence that their efforts have raised 
awareness, the moniker "trata de blanca" (white slavery) has 
been replaced with "trata de personas" (trafficking in 
persons) in both the press and in the common vernacular. 
 
¶D.  The GOES offers micro-credits for women to start small 
businesses, and provides financial incentives to rural 
families that keep their children to school. 
 
¶E.  The GOES, via the TIP task force, maintains working 
relations with IOM, ILO, UNICEF, the InterAmerican Women's 
Commission, USAID, PASCA (Canadian AID), and local NGOs 
Fundacion Huellas, CONAMUS, CEMUJER, and IDHUCA.  Post has 
observed that the GOES works well with the NGO community and 
includes them in the formulation of policy towards TIP. 
 
¶F.  Most international trafficking in El Salvador occurs 
overland.  El Salvador has an immigration agreement with its 
neighbors that allows Central American citizens to enter the 
country with only a national identification card.  Because no 
paperwork is generated, it is difficult analyze immigration 
patterns or evidence of trafficking.  Despite that, 
immigration officers and border police are vigilant in 
screening for trafficking, especially the trafficking of 
children.  Immigration officers at the international airport 
have foiled numerous attempt to smuggle (possibly traffic) 
children from South America to the U.S. 
 
¶G.  Internally, the TIP task force coordinates TIP efforts. 
Externally, the police engage in joint patrols on both sides 
of the border with the Guatemalan border police.  The GOES 
has repatriation agreements with Mexico and Guatemala that 
are funded by the IOM. 
 
¶H.  The TIP task force annually generates an Operational Plan 
to combat TIP with input from the NGO community.  Each agency 
is responsible for those tasks that fall within its 
jurisdiction. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
Paragraph 29: Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
¶A. Article 367B of the Penal Code specifically prohibits 
trafficking in persons for sexual and non-sexual purposes. 
Article 367C provides increased penalties for aggravated 
circumstances, such as when the accused is an authority 
figure, if the victim is a minor, or if the victim has 
diminished capacity.  The law applies to internal and 
transnational trafficking.  In addition to trafficking, 
perpetrators can be charged with pandering, deprivation of 
liberty, and child endangerment. 
 
¶B.  Individuals convicted of TIP face four to eight years in 
prison.  The sentence increases by one-third for the 
aggravated circumstances mentioned above. 
 
¶C.  In theory, non-sexual TIP (forced labor) would be 
prosecuted under the same trafficking law mentioned above. 
El Salvador has a labor surplus, and post is not aware of any 
cases of individuals trafficked for non-sexual labor. 
 
¶D.  The sentencing for rape is six to ten years.  The 
sentencing for aggravated rape -- when the victim is a minor 
or person of diminished capacity -- is 14 to 20 years. 
 
¶E.  Prostitution is not penalized.  Pandering -- when a third 
party is involved in arranging a liaison between a prostitute 
and a client -- is illegal.  Prior to the enactment of the 
TIP law in October 2004, TIP cases were typically tried as 
pandering.  In general, pandering laws are not enforced. 
Now, TIP cases are correctly identified as trafficking and 
prosecuted under the new TIP law. 
 
¶F.  During the reporting period, the GOES prosecuted 67 
individuals charged with trafficking, and achieved four 
convictions on the charges.  Two traffickers received four 
year sentences, one received three years, and the other 
received the maximum of eight years. 
 
¶G.  Most traffickers are brothel owners and their agents. 
 
¶H.  The GOES actively investigates TIP.  Undercover police 
officers enter brothels and topless bars to ascertain the 
possibility that the prostitutes have been trafficked.  If 
the evidence suggests that TIP is occurring, the Attorney 
General's office acquires a search warrant and the police 
raid the establishment.  The police also act on tips provided 
by the public. 
 
¶I.  See paragraph 28C.  Recruits at the police academy 
receive training on TIP.  Vice consuls from the Foreign 
Ministry have received TIP awareness training.  The U.S., 
Canada, and the NGO community provide extensive training to 
all relevant government agencies. 
 
¶J.  During the reporting period, the GOES cooperated with the 
governments of Belize, Guatemala, and Nicaragua on three 
separate trafficking cases. 
 
¶K.  To date, no government has requested the extradition of a 
Salvadoran national for trafficking offenses.  It remains 
unclear if Salvadoran law would permit extradition on 
trafficking in persons charges. 
 
¶L.  Post does not have any evidence suggesting that the GOES 
or any governmental entity tolerates trafficking. 
 
¶M.  N/A. 
 
¶N.  Post does not have any evidence suggesting that El 
Salvador is a child sex destination. 
 
¶O.  El Salvador has signed and ratified each of these 
international treaties. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Paragraph 30: Protection and Assistance to Victims 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶A. With support from the GOES and the IOM, local NGO Huellas 
operates a shelter for TIP victims.  During the reporting 
period, the shelter assisted 82 TIP victims.  ISNA (child 
protective services) operates a shelter for underage victims. 
 Both facilities are staffed with doctors and psychologists. 
 
¶B.  See above. 
 
¶C.  All underage individuals encountered under suspicious 
circumstances, e.g., in a brothel, are mandated to the 
custody of ISNA whether they identify themselves as victims 
or not.  Majority age individuals found in suspicious 
circumstances are transported away from the scene for 
questioning.  If they identify themselves as victims, they 
are transferred to the TIP shelter for evaluation and 
treatment.  Officers from the witness protection program of 
the police guard the TIP shelter 24 hours a day. 
 
¶D.  Victims rights are respected; they are not charged with a 
crime, nor or they detained.  Foreign victims wishing to 
return home without pressing charges are repatriated via the 
foreign ministry and the IOM. 
 
¶E.  Victims are encouraged to press charges against 
traffickers, although many refuse to do so.  Victims may file 
civil suits on a variety of claims.  Thus far, all foreign 
victims rescued from TIP situations have desired to return to 
their homeland immediately.  Salvadoran law does not 
explicitly grant foreign TIP victims the right to work; 
however, as no victim has ever made this request, it is 
unclear if the GOES would utilize a provision of existing law 
to secure a work permit.  The GOES does not maintain a victim 
restitution fund. 
 
¶F.  The TIP shelter is guarded continuously by the witness 
protection program division of the police.  Thus far, there 
has not been a need to place a victim in the witness 
protection program.  Should the need arise, the police are 
prepared to provide the necessary protection. 
 
¶G.  As mentioned in other sections, the GOES provides 
extensive training on pursuing TIP violations and assisting 
victims. 
¶H.  The GOES maintains "Protection Consulates" (Consulados de 
Proteccion) along the major human smuggling and trafficking 
routes between El Salvador and the U.S.  These consulates 
arrange immediate medical care for all injured Salvadorans, 
including TIP victims.  After victims are repatriated home, 
they have the option of seeking additional GOES-funded 
medical attention, or returning to their residence.  If they 
are indigent, the GOES provides temporary housing, financial, 
and job placement support. 
 
¶I.  The IOM is the most active trafficking NGO in El 
Salvador.  In addition to providing training, they monitor 
trafficking patterns and fund repatriation of TIP victims. 
With a grant from PRM-State, they fund the TIP shelter 
managed by local NGO Huelles. 
 
--------------- 
Best Practices 
--------------- 
 
The TIP task force, composed of the agencies listed in 
paragraph 28B, has proven to be an invaluable organizational 
structure.  With the assistance of OPDAT, this task force has 
created a TIP handbook that details the responsibilities of 
each agency relative to TIP issues.  To briefly illustrate 
the point, the police no longer bring underage victims to the 
TIP shelter because ISNA has administrative jurisdiction over 
these victims.  Everyone involved in addressing TIP issues 
knows this because it is clearly delineated in the TIP 
handbook.  The creation and implementation of the handbook 
has eliminated jurisdictional infighting.  Other posts 
interested in developing a similar handbook should contact 
Bobby Lippman at OPDAT at 202-514-0950. 
 
-------- 
Comment 
-------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The GOES has made substantial improvements in the 
areas of victims' assistance and prevention.  Victims are not 
criminalized; rather, they are sheltered and protected with 
access to medical and psychological care.  Government 
officials are raising awareness of TIP in a variety of ways, 
and the issue is routinely reported upon in the press. 
Police investigations and prosecutions, however, are hampered 
by a lack of resources and the compelling need to focus 
available resources on public security.  Despite that, the 
GOES readily acknowledges TIP as a problem, and condemns it 
in all forms without reservation. 
 
¶3. (U) J. Brian Duggan, POL/INL, is the point of contact for 
this report. 
Glazer