Venezuelans the majority of TIP victims - Region 4 main area where trafficking is perpetuated

Venezuelans the majority of TIP victims – Region 4 main area where trafficking is perpetuated

Aug 11, 2019 News

The Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons says it has taken note and wishes to address the general public on the purported risk of a resultant spike in the incidence of trafficking in persons being perpetrated in Guyana as a result of an increase influx of foreigners, including Haitians, Cubans, Americans, Canadians and other non-nationals.

The Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons says it has not received reports of Haitians being trafficked.

“While it is understood that trafficking in persons is a crime that can be perpetrated by anyone and that anyone can be a victim, the Task Force is also cognizant of the risk factors associated with this crime. However, the Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons has not received any recent reports or discovered any incidents where Haitians coming to Guyana are victims or perpetrators of Trafficking in Persons,“ the Task Force said in a statement on Friday.
The Task Force’s statement would come amidst reported concerns where almost 9,000 Haitians came to Guyana for the year about a small number leaving officially.
A significant number, however, based on investigations by this newspaper, found that the Haitians used Guyana as a stepping stone to especially Brazil.
The majority of the Haitians left overland, via the Linden/Lethem trail for Brazil.
However, while not addressing whether it found evidence of human smuggling, the Ministerial Task Force is convinced that there is little for TIP cases.
“The Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons wishes to inform the public that in 2018 the reported number of alleged victims of trafficking in persons’ occurrences in Guyana was 245. Of this total, 21 were from Guyana; 162 were from Venezuela; 10 from the Dominican Republic and 49 from Cuba. The remaining alleged victims were from Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Brazil.“
Additionally, from January- March 2019, the Guyana Police Force conducted a number of operations which resulted in 67 alleged victims of trafficking in persons in Guyana.
“In this instance, the Task Force said, 53 were Venezuelans; 10 Guyanese and four were Dominicans.
With the aforementioned influx of non- nationals, Venezuelans accounted for the majority of alleged victims in Guyana for 2018 and the early parts of 2019.
“The Task Force would also like to note that Region Four was the main area where trafficking humans was frequently perpetrated. This is the region which saw the highest incidence of alleged exploitation of Venezuelan Nationals and other foreigners.”
The Task Force also said it has, in collaboration with the Guyana Police Force Central Immigration and Passport Office, conducted a number of training in victim identification and referral with Immigration Officers, who manage and operate at various ports–of–entry and other locations in Guyana.
“It is important to note that the Government of Guyana is committed to ensuring, Venezuelans, Haitians, Cubans and other non- nationals utilizing various ports-of-entry, will upon entry continue to be treated with the respect afforded to citizens and other visitors in accordance with our laws. Further, there will not be any tolerance for attempts to perpetrate this dreadful crime.”
The Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons, with the individual efforts of Task Force Member Agencies, assured that it will certainly wish that persons with information do communicate reports of alleged activities related to trafficking or suspected trafficking to Task Force members so that the perpetrators can be dealt with.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News