VZCZCXRO7386
PP RUEHRD
DE RUEHSJ #0590/01 1960014
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 150014Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1033
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO PRIORITY 5222
RUEHRD/AMCONSUL MERIDA PRIORITY 0121

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SAN JOSE 000590 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CEN, GTIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CS MX PHUM PREL KTIP PGOV
SUBJECT: A COMPLICATED CASE - TWO COSTA RICANS IN MEXICAN 
PROSTITUTION RING 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On June 8, Mexican police conducted a 
prostitution/potential-TIP raid in the Yucatan region where 
they found two Costa Rican women who allegedly had been 
brought to Mexico for use in a prostitution ring.  While both 
women initially claimed that they had been trafficked to 
Mexico and kept against their will for use in forced 
prostitution, one of the women later admitted to Costa Rican 
authorities that they had gone to Mexico willingly with the 
express purpose of working in the sex industry.  Costa Rican 
authorities are continuing to investigate the incident, 
including whether there is a wider prostitution-recruitment 
ring operating in Costa Rica.  The two women were returned to 
Costa Rica on June 13, and given protection and support from 
the Victims Protection Office, which was officially 
established by law in Costa Rica in April 2009. END SUMMARY. 
 
-------------------------- 
A STORY - AND A RETRACTION 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On June 8, a police patrol in the northern Yucatan 
encountered Raquel Canales Acevedo, who told them that she 
and a friend had been trafficked into Mexico, were being held 
against their will in a nearby house, and were being used as 
sexual slaves.  Mexican authorities then followed Canales to 
the house, "freed" the second Costa Rican (Yoheni Chaves 
Fonseca), and arrested Rosa Maria Casanova May, a Mexican 
national.  Casanova implicated Keisy Gonzalez, a Costa Rican 
national, as the leader of the prostitution ring.  The two 
victims also told authorities that an official from the 
Yucatan State migration department, Hernan Vega Burgos, had 
assisted the ring in exchange for sexual favors.  Mexican 
authorities are reportedly continuing their investigation 
into Vega's actions (he resigned his post on June 11) and are 
searching for Gonzalez, a long-time resident of Mexico. 
 
¶3. (SBU)  According to Michael Soto, head of the GOCR 
Judicial Police's "Various Crimes" unit which runs 
trafficking investigations, Chaves stated that she wanted to 
"set the record straight" as soon as she was returned to 
Costa Rica.  Chaves told investigators that she had actually 
been recruited to go to Mexico by Canales in order to work as 
a prostitute, and that the two women had not in fact been 
held against their will while in Mexico.  Chaves said that 
after arriving in Mexico, Canales disagreed with their 
employers (including over the use of the washing machine) and 
became dissatisfied with her pay.  Chaves added that Canales 
was considering taking a position at another brothel when 
police found her, and that she invented the story regarding 
their alleged trafficking due to her personal disagreements 
with Gonzalez and Casanova.  Soto told us that Canales has 
refused to speak with investigators, and is seeking out a 
defense attorney (despite the fact that the police have not 
brought charges against her).  Soto also stated that the GOCR 
is investigating the 'massage parlor' where the women had 
worked in Costa Rica before going to Mexico in order to 
determine if a wider prostitution-recruitment ring exists in 
Costa Rica.  They are aware of at least one other Costa Rican 
who worked at Gonzalez's brothel in Mexico (for roughly one 
month) and returned to the Costa Rica around the time Canales 
and Chaves arrived in Mexico. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
VICTIM'S PROTECTION OFFICE SPRINGS INTO ACTION 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶4. (SBU) Upon their return to Costa Rica, Canales and Chaves 
were put under the protection of the Victims Protection 
Office (VPO), which was officially established by the new 
Victim and Witness Protection Act of April 2009.  Though not 
every tool called for the in Act has been put in place 
(including the construction of dedicated shelters for 
trafficking victims), the GOCR acted quickly and efficiently 
to provide protection to these two possible victims.  The 
women were met at the airport by GOCR officials and members 
of the inter-agency TIP Coalition, including a psychologist. 
Both women were given police protection for roughly 15 days, 
until both decided that they no longer needed/wanted the 
protection.  Both women were also offered regular visits with 
a psychologist for as long as they wished (which they used 
for a limited period of time).  The VPO also set up one of 
the women with a foundation that would provide her funds to 
rent an apartment for a month, after she had difficulties 
re-establishing her ties with her family upon returning to 
Costa Rica. 
 
-------------- 
 
SAN JOSE 00000590  002 OF 002 
 
 
MEDIA COVERAGE 
-------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The case was widely reported in the Costa Rican and 
Mexican press in mid-June.  Both women were clearly 
identified by name, with their photos lining the pages of 
various Costa Rican newspapers.  The Costa Rican press also 
listed detailed descriptions of the locations of their 
residences, including specific neighborhoods.  After their 
return, and in large part due to the media coverage which 
failed to keep their identities confidential, both women have 
faced a number of challenges in re-integrating into their 
communities and with their families. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) This case has brought to light some of the major 
challenges of dealing with trafficking cases in Costa Rica, 
but also showed the seriousness with which the GOCR now takes 
potential TIP cases.  All parties readily admit that there 
remains much work to be done on TIP issues, including Soto 
and Vice-Minister of Public Security (Government) Ana Duran, 
whose Ministry is responsible for handling the local TIP 
response. However, in this instance the GOCR and the TIP 
Coalition moved quickly to assist the two women from the 
moment they arrived in Costa Rica.  The full funding of the 
Victims Protection Office, as expected in next year's budget, 
the establishment of victims shelters, and the drafting and 
passage of a new specific anti-TIP law are some of the 
challenges that lay ahead. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The media response, however, left much to be 
desired.  The lack of protection of the women's identities 
had a tangibly negative impact on the women themselves, 
making it much more difficult for them to re-integrate.  We 
have already begun discussion with the National TIP Coalition 
and the GOCR on enhanced media training and outreach on TIP 
issues, and we plan to develop a clear media strategy over 
the coming months. 
BRENNAN