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FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2611
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 0377
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 7936
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 6098
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 1131
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO PRIORITY 4058
RUEHSP/AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN PRIORITY 3654
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO PRIORITY 2945
RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO PRIORITY 0604
RUEHAO/AMCONSUL CURACAO PRIORITY 1242
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE  PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RUEAHLC/DHS WASHDC PRIORITY
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RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR  PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY  PRIORITY

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