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INFO RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
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RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS
RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 CARACAS 000231 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
ALSO FOR POLAD, PASS TO AID/OTI BREMPELL 
WHA/PCC FOR SMILLER, G/TIP FOR SKRONENBURG 
DEPT FOR G/TIP, G-LAURA PENA, G, INL, DRL, PRM, WHA/PCC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB KMCA PHUM PREF SMIG ASEC KCRM KFRD KWMN KTIP
SUBJECT: Venezuela's 2010 TIP REPORT SUBMISSION 
 
REF: 10 CARACAS 187; 09 CARACAS 442 
 
(SBU)  Per reftel, post submits the following information for 
inclusion in the 2010 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. 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------- 
 
1 - The Country's TIP Situation 
 
--------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶A.      (SBU)  Reliable information on trafficking in persons in 
Venezuela is extremely limited.    There are no official statistics 
on the magnitude of TIP related problems in Venezuela, and no 
significant data on the extent and nature of the problem is 
available.  The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela 
(GBRV) is generally reluctant to share information regarding TIP 
with the USG.  An Italian based NGO (CESVI) has proposed plans to 
undertake independent documentation on the scope of human 
trafficking in Venezuela.  Reliable sources of information are the 
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United 
Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), the International Organization for 
Migration (IOM), the Catholic Relief Charity Caritas, 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, men, and children 
trafficked for the purposes of sexual and labor exploitation. 
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 countries within 
the region, and to Europe.  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.  Victims typically arrive in Venezuela 
en route to Caribbean resort areas (Curacao and Trinidad & Tobago) 
and Mexico.  As reported in the 2009 TIP report, NGO sources claim 
victims are transported by small boats from the coastal areas in 
Falcon state and the Paria peninsula to the Caribbean islands of 
Curacao and Trinidad, respectively.  The Women's Association for 
Well-Being and Reciprocal Assistance (AMBAR), a local 
anti-trafficking NGO, reports assisting 15 victims of trafficking 
from January-December 2009.  Of the 15 victims, 13 were girls, two 
were boys, and all were minors under the age of 18. 
 
 
 
¶C.       (SBU)  Victims of trafficking are primarily from abroad or 
from the interior of the country who are sold into prostitution 
rings or placed into situations of forced labor.  Post has no 
reliable information regarding the conditions in to which victims 
are trafficked. However, victim assistance NGOs report that victims 
are usually abused and conditions are typically poor, whether the 
victims are trafficked internationally or internally. 
 
CARACAS 00000231  002 OF 009 
 
 
¶D.      (SBU)  According to IOs and NGO contacts, women and 
children living in economically depressed regions are believed to 
be more vulnerable to both 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 victims are trafficked primarily from the 
interior of the country and later sold into prostitution rings or 
placed into forced labor; some children are forced to work as 
beggars.  Traffickers then transport their victims to urban 
centers, including Caracas and Maracaibo, and resort destinations, 
such as Margarita Island or Anzoategui state.  In some 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, 
parents are sometimes offered money to send their children to work 
in ostensibly legitimate businesses in Venezuela's major cities or 
resort towns.  Sometimes these offers turn out to be false and the 
victims are sold into the commercial sex trade or forced to work as 
beggars.  More recently, internal trafficking appears to be on the 
rise in some remote, resource-rich areas in the Orinoco River 
Basin, where victims are reportedly exploited by mining operations. 
In the border regions of the country, where political violence and 
FARC infiltration is common, trafficking is also reported to occur. 
 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
2 - The Government's Anti-TIP Efforts 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
 
 
¶A.      (SBU)  Lower-ranking officials within the Government of the 
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (GBRV) have acknowledged in the 
past that trafficking in persons is a problem, but senior officials 
within the GBRV do not generally discuss TIP as a national priority 
or problem.  A National Assembly Deputy (who is a member of the 
Permanent Committee on Family, Women, and Youth) acknowledged in 
January that trafficking in persons is a problem.  The 
parliamentarian told media that "combating trafficking in persons 
is a commitment of the current government" and that "we want to 
make a national law that will really make a difference." 
 
 
 
¶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 Directorate 
(CPD) has primary responsibility for coordinating all anti-crime 
efforts in the country.  The CPD's Criminology Investigative 
Division has jurisdiction for  trafficking in persons.  Within the 
MPPIJ, The Scientific, Penal, and Criminalistic Investigative Corps 
(CICPC) also has responsibility for trafficking cases that come to 
its attention through a government hotline,  or though other 
offices that identify trafficking elements in larger cases.  The 
Government's National Women's Institute (INAMUJER) serves as a 
liaison between victims, NGOs, and government law enforcement 
agencies.  In 2008 the government begun installing several new 
courts to address cases involving violence against women, however 
the courts have not been established in every state in the country 
and little is known about their effectiveness. The final scope of 
the new "women's courts" and the extent of their involvement in 
 
CARACAS 00000231  003 OF 009 
 
 
anti-TIP efforts has yet to be determined. 
 
 
 
¶C.      (SBU)  The lack of a central coordinating body, such as a 
national coordinator, hampered Venezuela's ability to keep and 
share statistics and/or information regarding TIP.  Corruption is a 
problem throughout Venezuelan society, resulting in the potential 
for traffickers to pay bribes, easily secure identity documents, 
and/or cross checkpoints with minimal scrutiny. 
 
 
 
¶D.      (SBU)  Post does not have reliable information to assess 
the extent to which the government systematically monitors its 
anti-trafficking efforts.  NGOs and IOs report that the Government 
does not readily make available information on its anti-trafficking 
efforts. 
 
 
 
¶E.       (SBU)  The Government of Venezuela routinely gathers data 
and provides documentation to establish the identity of local 
populations, to include birth registration, citizenship, and 
nationality.  Sources at the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) 
reported, however, that thousands of children born to undocumented 
aliens were not registered at birth.  Sources working with refugees 
in the border region likewise report that refugees (and people 
having possible claims to dual Colombian/Venezuelan citizenship) 
often struggle to obtain needed credentials and documentation to 
prove their citizenship. 
 
 
 
¶F.       (SBU)  Information regarding arrests and ongoing 
prosecution of traffickers is available on an ad-hoc basis through 
the Public Ministry's website.  Lack of coordination between 
government agencies further hampers Venezuela's ability to gather 
required TIP data.  The appointment of a national coordinator would 
be one way to work around this gap. 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------- 
 
3 - 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 stipulates 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 
 
CARACAS 00000231  004 OF 009 
 
 
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 Government of Venezuela passed the 
Organic Law on a Woman's Right to a Violence-Free Life, which was 
designed to complement existing legislation.  Specifically, it 
outlines criminal punishment for 19 forms of violence against 
women, including forced prostitution, sexual slavery, smuggling and 
trafficking.  (Note:  This law, as 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 though false employment, coercion, or force for 
monetary benefit, is 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 
irregular adoptions, and the sale of organs, is punishable with 15 
to 20 years in prison. 
 
 
 
¶B.      / C.    (SBU)  The Organized Crime Law 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 in 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 from 10-20 years in 
prison.  (See paragraph A above for a more detailed description of 
penalties.)  The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, 
including by children, and establishes sentences of one to three 
years incarceration for forced child labor. 
 
 
 
¶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.  The March 2007 
Organic Law on a Women's Right to a Violence-Free Life increased 
the punishment to 10 to 15 years in prison. 
 
 
 
¶E.       (SBU)  The following information and statistics on law 
enforcement efforts was shared with Embassy Caracas' Political 
section on November 25, 2009:   11 TIP detentions have occurred in 
the 2008-2009 time frame, with a total of 15 investigations for 
suspected TIP.    In 2007, 9 TIP related detentions occurred.  In a 
second exchange of information on December 3, Post was informed 
that the following cases were currently being investigated; 1 case 
received from Madrid, Spain (dated 02/05/2009); a case received 
from Trinidad and Tobago (dated (03/12/2009); a case originating in 
Merida, Venezuela (dated 03/19/2009); and a second case received 
from Trinidad and Tobago (dated 10/13/2009). 
 
 
 
(SBU)  On March 18, 2009, the Public Ministry's website noted 
charges were filed against two individuals, Nedibo Parra (the owner 
 
CARACAS 00000231  005 OF 009 
 
 
of a shrimp farm) and Luz Estela Ojeda (the general manager), for 
alleged participation in labor trafficking and labor exploitation 
of Colombians workers.  The website reported the 56 victims had no 
Venezuelan identity documents and only had documentation from 
Colombia.  The alleged traffickers were operating their business 
(Pisicar) in the San Francisco municipality of Zulia State.  An 
investigation is currently ongoing. 
 
 
 
(SBU)  On July 10, 2009, the Public Ministry's website noted the 
sentencing of Inocencia Mantilla Silva to 6 years and 6 months in 
prison for the sexual exploitation of a 15 year old female victim 
in the Iribarren municipality of Lara State.  The victim was 
discovered working in a brothel by military members who reportedly 
rescued her. 
 
 
 
(SBU)  On January 18, 2010, the Public Ministry's website noted the 
sentencing of Jorge Eliecer Castro Davila to  17 years and 6 months 
in prison for trafficking offenses committed in October 2008.  The 
trafficker was reportedly being held at the Maracaibo jail and was 
involved in the trafficking of women to Spain where they were 
forced to work as prostitutes.  The website also reported six 
arrests in Spain. 
 
 
 
(SBU)  On February 22, 2010, seven Cuban doctors and one nurse 
filed a lawsuit in a Miami courtroom against Venezuela, Cuba, and 
the Venezuelan state run oil company (PDVSA) for forcing them to 
work against their will.  The medical workers claimed they were 
forced into servitude and paid low wages to help repay Cuba's oil 
debts to Venezuela. For additional information regarding 
allegations of Cuban physicians, see 09 Caracas 442 and 10 Caracas 
¶187. 
 
 
 
¶F.       (SBU)  Post is not aware of specific training sessions for 
law enforcement and immigration officials, however was assured in 
email communications on November 25 by the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs that  governmental officials had received training in 
preventing the crime.  No specific details were shared with Post 
about particular training sessions, dates, or the scope of training 
received. 
 
 
 
¶G.     (SBU)  Post has no reliable information regarding 
cooperative international investigations involving trafficking. 
Information provided to G/TIP by the Government of Venezuela on 
March 27, 2009, and to post on December 3, 2009, indicates 
international cooperation has occurred with Spain, Romania, and 
Trinidad & Tobago in combating and investigating TIP. 
 
 
 
¶H.      (SBU)  Post has no information regarding whether the 
Government of Venezuela received any request for the extradition of 
traffickers.  Venezuelan law prohibits the extradition of 
Venezuelan nationals. 
 
 
 
I/J.  (SBU)   There is no information available about Government 
officials who may have facilitated, were complicit in, or condoned 
trafficking. 
 
CARACAS 00000231  006 OF 009 
 
 
¶K.    (SBU)  This section does not apply to Venezuela because it 
does not contribute troops to 
 
international peacekeeping efforts. 
 
 
 
¶L.     (SBU) The country does not have an identified problem of 
child sex tourists coming to Venezuela.  Prostitution is legal in 
Venezuela and does occur in large urban cities such as Caracas, as 
well as in resort areas such as Margarita Island. 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
4 - Protection and Assistance to Victims 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
 
 
¶A.      (SBU)  The Government of Venezuela offers some protection 
for victims and witnesses.  The Government of Venezuela operates a 
large network of "social missions" as "state tools" to improve the 
social and economic lives of vulnerable groups such as the poor, 
women, children, and teenagers.  To date a Mission dedicated solely 
for TIP victims has not been created, however victims of 
trafficking in persons, (as do all low income Venezuelans), have 
full access to these missions and free or reduced cost public 
services provided by them. Post does not have funding information 
for each mission, however they are usually funded with state 
revenues and resources from the federal government. 
 
 
 
¶B.      (SBU)  The Government of Venezuela 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 the NGO AMBAR 
to assist with TIP prevention activities, psychological services 
for victims and educational campaigns. However, the majority of 
NGOs in Venezuela receive little to no government funding for 
victim care facilities. 
 
 
 
¶C.      (SBU)  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 have trained psychologists and physicians 
who provide these examinations free of charge, however, 
comprehensive victim services providing necessary follow-up medical 
assistance, job training and reintegration assistance are extremely 
limited. Local media reports and the Public Ministry's website 
indicate that when underage children are discovered to be working 
in brothels, they are typically placed into child protective 
custody. 
 
 
 
¶D.      (SBU)  UNHCR noted it has successfully worked with the 
Government of Venezuela to file asylum requests and relief from 
deportation for victims (from Colombia)  who feared reprisals from 
traffickers or criminal organizations if they returned to their 
country of origin. 
 
CARACAS 00000231  007 OF 009 
 
 
¶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 Government of Venezuela does not 
operate shelters dedicated solely for trafficking victims. 
Longer-term shelter or housing benefits specifically for victims of 
TIP does not exist. 
 
 
 
¶F.       (SBU)  International organizations and NGOs state that the 
government generally respected the rights of victims who have been 
detained, arrested, or placed in protective custody.  Victims are 
typically referred to the Scientific, Penal, and Criminalistic 
Investigative Corps (CICPC), the government's National Women's 
Institute (INAMUJER), or local organizations for legal and 
psychological service. The government also operates a national 
hotline through which it can receive trafficking complaints, 
although some NGOs and service providers complain it frequently 
doesn't work or isn't answered. 
 
 
 
¶G.     (SBU)  On March 27, 2009, the Government reported it had 
repatriated  a total of 5 victims from Trinidad and Tobago (sexual 
exploitation), 1 victim from Spain (sexual exploitation), and 1 
victim from Romania (labor exploitation).  The information was 
confirmed by the government on November 25, 2009.  No new 
information regarding victim identification has been provided to 
the Embassy during the reporting cycle. 
 
 
 
(SBU)  The Women's Association for Well-Being and Reciprocal 
Assistance (AMBAR), a local anti-trafficking NGO, reported 
assisting a total of 15 victims of trafficking in persons between 
January and December 2009.  Of the 15 victims, 13 were girls and 
two were boys.  All the victims were minors under the age of 18. 
The female victims were age 10 (1 victim), age 12 (1 victim), age 
13 (3 victims), age 15 (2 victims), age 16 (2 victims), and age 17 
(4 victims).   The male victims were age 9 (1 victim) and age 13 (1 
victim). 
 
 
 
¶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 
the Scientific, Penal, and Criminalistic Investigative Corps 
(CICPC), the government's National Women's Institute (INAMUJER), or 
local organizations for legal and psychological service.  Post has 
not heard of incidents of trafficking victims being jailed, fined, 
or prosecuted. 
 
 
 
¶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 Government of 
Venezuela does not share information with Post regarding any 
ongoing investigations or prosecutions. 
 
CARACAS 00000231  008 OF 009 
 
 
(SBU)  As mentioned in section 3(e), on January 18, 2010, the 
Public Ministry's open website noted the sentencing of Jorge 
Eliecer Castro Davila to  17 years and 6 months in prison for 
trafficking offenses committed in October 2008.  The trafficker was 
reportedly being held at the Maracaibo jail and was involved in the 
trafficking of women to Spain where they were forced to work as 
prostitutes.  The website also reported six arrests in Spain. 
According to the website, upon her return to Venezuela, the victim 
assisted law enforcement officers in the prosecution of this 
Venezuelan-based trafficker. 
 
 
 
¶K.      (SBU  NGOs and IOs report that when they offer anti-TIP 
training workshops and programs, government officials do attend. 
 
 
 
¶L.       (SBU)  Repatriated victims can make use of any government 
social services, but no specific assistance to repatriated TIP 
victims is provided. 
 
 
 
¶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.  AMBAR plans to open a second 
shelter in the remote city of Caicara del Orinoco,  in hopes of 
reaching victims removed for the urban center of Caracas.  The 
International Organization of Migration (IOM) worked to promote 
international cooperation on migration issues, to include 
trafficking.  It continued to work with government officials, NGOs, 
and victim's assistance organizations by providing some training 
opportunities and workshops on TIP-related issues.  UNHCR continued 
to cooperate with the Government of Venezuela on a range of issues, 
ranging from refugees to trafficking in persons.  NGOs were 
generally complimentary of efforts by the Ministry of Health to 
provide psychological services for victims and promote educational 
campaigns on preventing TIP. 
 
 
 
--------------------- 
 
5 - Prevention 
 
--------------------- 
 
 
 
¶A.      (SBU)  The Government of Venezuela did work towards raising 
public awareness about the dangers of human trafficking by airing 
public service announcements and distributing posters and pamphlets 
against commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.  The 
government also operated a victim's assistance hotline. 
 
 
 
¶B.      (SBU)  Post is unable to assess the extent of the 
Government of Venezuela's efforts to monitor immigration and 
emigration patterns for evidence of trafficking because of a lack 
of information sharing.  International organizations report that 
the government is continuing to screen for potential TIP victims at 
border checkpoints, airports, and ports of entry.  As in the 2009 
TIP report, NGOs claim that victims are transported by small boats, 
 
CARACAS 00000231  009 OF 009 
 
 
thereby avoiding immigration checkpoints, from the coastal areas in 
Falcon state and the Paria peninsula to the Caribbean islands of 
Aruba, Curacao, and Trinidad & Tobago respectively. 
 
 
 
¶C.      (SBU) Officials from the Government of Venezuela shared 
only limited TIP-related information with the Embassy in 2008 or 
¶2009.  IOs and NGOs report that government communication and 
coordination between various agencies is ad-hoc at best.  The 
Government's relationship with International Organizations and 
local NGOs varied widely.  IOM, for example, enjoys a positive 
working relationship with the government stemming from training 
seminars IOM provides.  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, AMBAR has had 
some degree of success in working with the government. 
 
 
 
¶D.      (SBU)  In 2006 the Government of Venezuela created a 
working group to draft a national plan of action to combat 
trafficking in persons.  Over four years later it has not completed 
the plan and the working group is defunct.  The working group was 
headed by the MPPIJ and included the CICPC, SEBIN (intelligence 
police), and the Ministries of Popular Power for Tourism, 
Infrastructure, and Foreign Relations.  NGOs participated in the 
planning session and presented proposals.  NGO 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 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. 
 
 
 
---------------------- 
 
6 - Partnerships 
 
---------------------- 
 
 
 
¶A.      (SBU)  Post is not aware of any large scale efforts to 
cooperate with other governments on TIP. 
 
 
 
¶B.      (SBU)  Post is unaware of any international assistance the 
Government of Venezuela provides to other countries to address TIP. 
 
 
 
¶C.      Post has no information to indicate that child soldiering 
occurs in Venezuela. 
DUDDY