VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSN #0156/01 0511612
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201612Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0733
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 000156 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP, G-ACBLANK, INL, DRL, PRM, WHA/PPC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB
ES 
SUBJECT: 2008 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT 
 
REF: STATE 132759 
 
 
¶1. (U) The following is post's response to Reftel. The text 
directly tracks reftel Paragraph 23-27 and relevant 
subsections. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Responses to checklist items follow. Note internal 
paragraph numbering. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Paragraph 23 - The Country's TIP Situation 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶A. Sources of TIP information are the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs (MFA), the National Civilian Police (PNC), the 
Attorney General's Office (FGR), the Salvadoran Institute for 
the Comprehensive Development of Children and Adolescents 
(ISNA), the Salvadoran Institute for Women's Development 
(ISDEMU), the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the 
non-governmental organization (NGO) Save the Children. These 
sources are considered reliable; however, the full extent of 
trafficking is unknown as accurate statistics are not 
available. 
 
¶B. El Salvador is a country of origin, transit, and 
destination for trafficked persons for the purpose of sexual 
exploitation and forced labor. The majority of victims are 
females -- children and adolescents -- trafficked for 
commercial sexual exploitation. Most TIP victims come from El 
Salvador and other Central American countries. The full 
extent of trafficking in El Salvador is unknown. During the 
reporting period, the PNC reported that it had investigated 
TIP cases involving 45 female and two male victims. Within El 
Salvador, the majority of TIP victims are women and girls who 
are trafficked from the countryside to population centers to 
serve as prostitutes. The government estimates that 80 
percent of victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation, 10 
percent for fraudulent adoptions, 5 percent for forced labor, 
and 5 percent for situations analogous to slavery. There is 
no evidence that there has been a significant change in type 
of trafficking during the reporting period. The destinations 
of victims have changed slightly; 2008 saw an increase in 
victims being trafficked to European countries. 
 
¶C. Victims are trafficked into varying degrees of conditions, 
and are subjected to a wide range of abuses. NGOs report that 
some victims are not deprived of their physical liberty, but 
are economically or emotionally tied to their traffickers. 
Others are addicted to drugs. 
 
¶D. Salvadoran traffickers target females from 12 to 18 years 
of age, persons from low-income areas, adolescents without 
formal education, and unemployed young men. During the 
reporting period, there was some evidence that traffickers 
also offered victims agricultural work. Most victims were 
Salvadoran nationals, but some foreign victims entered into 
the country on their own from Nicaragua, Honduras, and 
Guatemala in response to job offers as domestic servants and 
were forced into prostitution upon arrival. 
 
¶E. According to the MFA, traffickers are often owners of 
topless bars and brothels and employment agencies that offer 
work in beauty salons, gyms, and factories, or as maids or 
models. Traffickers are also frequently owners of 
plantations, ranches, or factories. According to law 
enforcement officials, there is some evidence that members of 
organized crime are involved in trafficking. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
Paragraph 24 - The Government's Anti-TIP Efforts 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶A. The government does acknowledge that trafficking is a 
problem. 
 
¶B. The National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons is 
a task force made up of the government agencies responsible 
for addressing TIP. Its members include the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs (MFA), Ministry of Education, Ministry of 
Public Security, Ministry of Labor, the PNC, the Office of 
the Attorney General, ISNA, and ISDEMU. The Committee 
collected data on trafficking, and its member agencies 
conducted anti-trafficking training, information programs, 
and provided assistance to victims. The coordinating agency 
is the MFA. 
 
¶C. The government's ability to address trafficking is 
hampered primarily by financial constraints. It is unable to 
devote sufficient funding toward efforts to prevent 
trafficking, investigate trafficking cases, and prosecute 
traffickers. Corruption in the judiciary also undermines 
public confidence in criminal prosecutions and judicial 
redress for trafficking victims. There are no designated 
budgets for TIP within the PNC or the Office of the Attorney 
General. Additionally, the government lacks the resources to 
strengthen and improve public awareness campaigns and to 
improve attention to victims. While the MFA reports that 
corruption is not an obstacle to the prosecution of 
trafficking cases, NGOs and other credible sources report 
that corruption is a significant obstacle. NGOs also report 
that the government is hampered by disorganization and the 
inability to conduct proper forensic investigations. 
 
¶D. The National Plan to Eliminate Trafficking in Persons 
(2008-2010) was drafted in December 2007 and allows 
Salvadoran agencies to monitor the government's anti-TIP 
efforts. The National Committee to Combat Trafficking in 
Persons meets once a month to monitor Salvadoran efforts to 
combat TIP and to make information available to international 
organizations and the public. Social stigma and fear of 
retribution prevents adequate reporting by TIP victims and 
collection of comprehensive data on TIP. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
Paragraph 25 - 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. 
 
Article 367B of Salvadoran criminal code states:  Anyone who, 
either on his own behalf, or as a member of a national or 
international organization for the purpose of obtaining an 
economic benefit recruits, transports, moves, welcomes or 
receives (people), outside or within the national territory, 
to carry out any activity of sexual exploitation, keep them 
in work or forced servitude, in similar practices to slavery, 
or for the extraction of (human) organs, fraudulent 
adoptions, or forced marriages, will be punished by 
imprisonment from four to eight years. When the victim is 
under 18 years or is of diminished mental capacity, the term 
will increase up to one-third of the above mentioned maximum. 
Anyone that facilitates, promotes or supports any of the 
above-mentioned activities will be punished by imprisonment 
from three to six years. When the described actions take 
place in commercial locations or any location that requires a 
special permit from a competent authority, such authority 
will revoke the permit and will proceed to immediately close 
it. (unofficial translation) 
 
The Spanish text of article 367B of the Salvadoran Criminal 
Code which entered into force in January 2004, is as follows: 
 
TRATA DE PERSONAS 
Art. 367B.- El que por si o como miembro de una organizacion 
nacional o internacional con el proposito de obtener un 
beneficio economico reclute, transporte, traslade, acoja o 
recepte personas, dentro o fuera del territorio nacional, 
para ejecutar cualquier actividad de explotacion sexual, 
mantenerlas en trabajos o servicios forzados, en practicas 
analogas a la esclavitud, o para extraccion de organos, 
adopciones fraudulentas o celebracion de matrimonies 
forzados, sera sancionado con pena de cuatro a ocho anos de 
prision. 
 
Cuando la victima sea persona menor de dieciocho anos o 
incapaz, la pena se aumentara hasta en una tercera parte del 
maximo senalado. Todo aquel que facilitare, promoviere o 
favoreciere cualquiera de las actividades anteriores sera 
sancionado con pena de tres a seis anos de prision. Cuando 
las acciones descritas se realizaren en locales comerciales o 
de cualquier naturaleza que requiera permiso de autoridad 
competente, esta debera revocarlo procediendo al cierre 
inmediato del mismo. 
 
Salvadoran law does not provide for civil penalties in TIP 
cases. 
¶B. Article 367B of the Salvadoran Penal Code provides 
penalties for trafficking for sexual exploitation of four to 
eight years in prison. Penalties can be increased up to 
one-third of the maximum penalty if the victim is a minor or 
the trafficker is a public official or law enforcement agent, 
or if the crime was committed as part of abuse of authority 
in domestic, educational, or labor relations; or if, as a 
consequence of the crime, the victim dies or is deprived of 
his or her freedom of transit. 
 
¶C. Article 367B of the Salvadoran penal code provides 
penalties for trafficking for labor exploitation of four to 
eight years in prison. Penalties can be increased up to 
one-third of the maximum penalty if the victim is a minor; if 
the trafficker is a public official or law enforcement agent; 
if the crime was committed as part of abuse of authority in 
domestic, educational or labor relations; or if, as a 
consequence of the crime, the victim dies or is deprived of 
his or her freedom of transit. Forced or compulsory labor is 
also prohibited by the Salvadoran Constitution, except in 
cases of public calamity and other instances specified by 
law. All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery are 
forbidden under a general provision of the Salvadoran 
Constitution, as well as under the criminal code. 
 
¶D. The criminal code provides penalties of 6 to 20 years in 
prison for rape. If the victim is younger than 15 years old, 
or is of diminished mental capacity, unconscious, or 
incapable of resisting, the sentence ranges from 14 to 20 
years. The Salvadoran criminal code establishes prison 
sentences from 3 to 10 years for other types of sexual 
assault. If rape or sexual aggression is committed by a 
member of the victim's family, the penalty could be increased 
by up to one-third of the maximum penalty. According to the 
Office of the Attorney General, Salvadoran prosecutors often 
prefer to prosecute criminals under rape charges rather than 
TIP charges because the mandated sentences are stronger for 
rape cases. 
 
¶E. During the reporting period, the PNC reported that it 
investigated 73 cases of human trafficking, resulting in 23 
trials and eight convictions. 57 cases involved children 
under 18 years of age, and 47 involved commercial sexual 
exploitation. There were no cases of the government 
criminally prosecuting labor recruiters who recruit workers 
using knowingly fraudulent or deceptive offers or by imposing 
fees or commissions for the purpose of subjecting the worker 
to debt bondage. There were no cases of the government 
criminally prosecuting employers or labor agents who 
confiscate workers' passports/travel documents for the 
purpose of trafficking, switch contracts or terms of 
employment without the worker's consent to keep workers in a 
state of service, use physical or sexual abuse or the threat 
of such abuse to keep workers in a state of service, or 
withhold payment of salaries as a means to keep workers in a 
state of service. 
 
¶F. The government provides specialized training for officials 
to recognize, investigate, and prosecute trafficking. 
Additionally, the International Organization for Migration 
(IOM), the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the 
International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) have trained 
Salvadoran public officials on TIP. In November 2008, the 
Department provided the MFA with a trafficking specialist to 
provide a course in TIP to law enforcement and other 
Salvadoran officials. 
 
¶G. The government cooperates with other governments in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases. The 
government reported that, during the reporting period, it 
cooperated in investigations with the 
United States, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Belize. 
 
¶H. The government does not extradite Salvadoran nationals for 
any crime, despite a bilateral, in-force extradition treaty. 
 
¶I. Post has no evidence of government tolerance of 
trafficking. However, there are credible reports that some 
government officials in the department of Chalatenango are 
involved in trafficking activities. 
 
¶J. During the reporting period, we know of one conviction of 
a government official involved in trafficking. In February 
2008, one former PNC officer was sentenced to seven years 
imprisonment for TIP. The government has assembled a team of 
38 officers to organize a national TIP training effort. 
 
¶K. Prostitution is not a crime. Pandering, when a third party 
is involved in arranging a liaison between a prostitute and a 
client, is illegal, as is forced prostitution. In general, 
pandering laws are not enforced. Prior to the enactment of 
the TIP law in October 2004, TIP cases were typically tried 
as pandering. For the most part, TIP cases are correctly 
identified as trafficking and prosecuted under the TIP law. 
 
¶L. El Salvador has contributed eleven contingents of troops 
to several peacekeeping operations. There have been no 
reports of Salvadoran nationals being involved in TIP or 
exploitation of TIP victims in these regions. 
 
¶M. Post has no evidence that El Salvador is a child sex 
tourism destination. El Salvador saw no cases of foreign 
pedophiles. El Salvador's sexual abuse laws do have 
extraterritorial coverage, but no Salvadoran nationals were 
prosecuted under extraterritorial provisions during the 
reporting period. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Paragraph 26 - Protection and Assistance to Victims 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶A. In law and in practice, the government provides security 
protection to all victims and witnesses who request it. Some 
were accommodated in a special shelter for TIP victims where 
they received psychological and medical care. Officers from 
the PNC witness protection program provide 24-hour protection 
to the TIP shelter. Save the Children reports that victims 
receive good support while in the shelter, but the support 
ceases as soon as the victims depart the shelter. 
 
¶B. The government has victim care facilities accessible to 
trafficking victims. Foreign victims are given the same 
access to care as domestic victims. The government had a 
specialized facility dedicated to victims of trafficking. At 
present, the shelter is being operated by ISNA, an agency 
that provides care to trafficking victims and to children who 
are orphans, abandoned, or homeless. A portion of the funding 
($32,000) for the shelter is provided by a project run by 
Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM). Additional funding 
is supplied by IOM. The government did not specify the amount 
of money spent to assist TIP victims. It has established a 
Shelter Committee, which is comprised of the MFA, the 
Ministry of Public Security and Justice through the Migration 
Directorate, ISNA, ISDEMU, the Office of the Attorney 
General, the PNC, the Public Defender's Office, and IOM. 
 
¶C. The government provides trafficking victims with access to 
legal, medical, and psychological services through the 
aforementioned shelter, currently operated by ISNA. The 
government did not specify the amount of money spent to 
support the shelter program, but the funds that it does 
provide are from the national budget. A PRM-run program 
provides a portion of the funding for the shelter, and 
additional funding is given by IOM. 
 
¶D. There are no specific laws in place to provide temporary 
or permanent residency status to foreign trafficking victims. 
However, upon the request of the Office of the Attorney 
General and ISNA, the Director General of Migration can now 
grant special permission to victims for residency. We have 
received no reports of victims requesting temporary or 
permanent residency status. 
 
¶E. The government has not had any cases in which victims have 
sought long-term shelter or housing benefits. 
 
¶F. The government does not have 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 government does not 
deprive qualified victims of their right of freedom. 
 
¶G. During the reporting period, authorities reported 57 
trafficking victims. 14 victims were referred to care 
facilities by law enforcement authorities. Nine victims were 
referred to care facilities by government-funded assistance 
programs. 
 
¶H. The government has a systematic method for identifying 
trafficking victims in the border regions. When an official 
identifies a potential trafficking victim, he/she fills out a 
form containing that person's data, and submits the form to 
the Director General of Migration, Trafficking Prevention 
section. The information is then transmitted to the Unit of 
Investigations so that it can be relayed to the Trafficking 
Department of the Border Division of the PNC. The government 
does not have a mechanism for screening for trafficking 
victims among persons involved in the commercial sex trade. 
 
¶I. El Salvador protects the rights of TIP victims. Victims 
are not subject to prosecution, detention, or fines. 
 
¶J. Victims are encouraged by the government to assist the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking, although many 
refuse to do so. During the reporting period, 57 victims 
participated in the investigation or prosecution of 
traffickers. Victims may file civil suits or seek legal 
action against traffickers, and are free to pursue legal 
action unimpeded. Salvadoran law allows foreign TIP victims 
the right to work, but we have no knowledge that any TIP 
victim has ever made that request. The government reports 
that victims have means of obtaining restitution. 
 
¶K. The government provides training for government officials 
in identifying TIP violations and assisting victims, 
including the special needs of trafficked children. The 
government also provides training and assistance to its 
embassies and consulates in foreign countries that are 
destination or transit countries for TIP. During the 
reporting period, El Salvador's embassies and consulates 
abroad provided assistance to four victims. Additionally, El 
Salvador is an active member of the Regional Conference on 
Migration. El Salvador has a TIP agreement with Guatemala, 
and the Salvadoran Consulate in Tapachula, Mexico is part of 
the network against TIP. El Salvador has drafted guidelines 
for its Foreign Service on combating TIP. 
 
¶L. The government 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, they have the option of seeking additional 
government-funded medical attention or returning to their 
residence. If they are indigent, the government provides 
temporary housing, financial, and job placement support. 
 
¶M. The IOM is the most active anti-TIP NGO in El Salvador. In 
addition to providing training, they monitor trafficking 
patterns and fund repatriation of TIP victims. 
 
 
------------------------- 
Paragraph 27 - Prevention 
------------------------- 
 
¶A. During the reporting period, the government ran 
anti-trafficking information and education campaigns. The 
government trained officials to prevent and deter TIP. The 
training has improved the processing of trafficking victims. 
Government training was provided to 5,231 officials from the 
Office of Migration, Ministry of Health and Education, the 
National Judicial Council, the Ministry of Labor, the 
Ministry of Tourism, the Institute of Legal Medicine, the 
PNC, IDESMU, ISNA, and the MFA. 
 
¶B. The PNC and the Directorate General of Migration jointly 
patrol key locations to prevent and combat TIP. Additionally, 
the PNC Border division studies migration profiles in order 
to detect migration flows and to recognize TIP cases. 
 
¶C. The National Committee Against Trafficking in Persons (the 
TIP task force) is comprised of 15 government agencies 
concerned with trafficking, including: the Foreign Ministry 
(Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores); Ministry of Justice 
(Ministerio de Justicia y Paz); Ministry of Finance 
(Hacienda); Ministry of Education (Educacion); Ministry of 
Labor (Trabajo); Ministry of Health (Salud); Ministry of 
Tourism (Turismo); the National Civilian Police (Policia 
Nacional Civil); Migration (Migracion); Family Assistance 
(Secretaria Nacional de la Familia); the Office of the 
Attorney General (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 government of El Salvador has a 
coordination and communication protocol that involves all the 
members of the TIP committee. The Foreign Ministry chairs the 
group, while each agency has jurisdiction over its 
responsibilities. The government has a corruption committee 
coordinated by the National Council for Sustainable 
Development and an Ethics Committee that oversees public 
officials. 
 
¶D. The government's national action plan to address TIP, the 
National Plan to Eliminate Trafficking in Persons 
(2008-2010), was drafted in 2007. The members of the National 
Committee Against TIP were involved in developing the plan. 
Several NGOs were consulted in the process including the 
Human Rights Institute of the Central America University 
(IDHUCA) and CEMUJER, a women's rights NGO. The government 
conducted several briefings to disseminate their action plan. 
 
¶E. The PNC conducts "Plan Sarissa", which is comprised of 
vehicle inspections, patrols, and investigations, with the 
aim of reducing the overall crime level through deterrence. 
The PNC reports that it runs weekly operations in the 
metropolitan zone of San Salvador to reduce the demand for 
commercial sex acts. 
 
¶F. The government has taken no actions during the reporting 
period to reduce the participation in international child sex 
tourism by Salvadoran nationals. 
 
¶G. The government includes an anti-trafficking component in 
the training it gives to military forces prior to deployment 
for peacekeeping or similar missions. 
BLAU