It then describes U.S. efforts to deal with trafficking in persons in the region and discusses recent country and regional anti-trafficking efforts. Human Trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean

Human trafficking is a growing problem in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region that contains major source, transit, and destination countries for trafficking victims. In Guatemala, relatively large crime groups are transporting women from other countries—primarily from other countries in Central America—for sexual exploitation. U.S. Policy

		Congressional Action39

			Legislation

Anti-TIP efforts have accelerated in the United States since the enactment of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA, P.L. 106-386 ). The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Reauthorization Act of 2008 ( P.L. In February 2016, Congress enacted legislation referred to as the International Megan's Law ( P.L. 114-119 ) requiring registered sex offenders to carry passports with "unique identifiers" and U.S. agencies to notify foreign governments when registered sex offenders are visiting their countries. Import Restrictions

Congress also enacted the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 ( P.L. 1307), which had allowed goods produced by forced labor to be imported if demand for those items could not be met by U.S. producers. On December 18, 2015, Congress enacted the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 ( P.L. The act places numerous conditions on the aid for Central America, including a requirement that 25% of the funds for the "central governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras" be withheld until the Secretary of State can certify that the governments are "taking effective steps" to deter emigration, combat alien smuggling and human trafficking, improve border security, and receive and reintegrate citizens repatriated from the United States. The report categorized 188 countries into tiers based on their government's level of effort to address human trafficking: Tier 1 (best), Tier 2, Tier 2 Watch List, and Tier 3 (worst). Only Tier 1 countries, approximately 19.5% of those assessed, are fully compliant with U.S.-established minimum standards to eliminate severe forms of human trafficking; the other countries are noncompliant and vary in terms of their level of effort to improve. In 2016, the Trafficking in Persons Report listed 27 countries as Tier 3. Countries on the Tier 2 Watch List include Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Cuba, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. Belize, Venezuela, and Haiti are the only Latin American countries identified as Tier 3. U.S. Government Anti-Trafficking Programs in Latin America

In FY2016, the U.S. government provided more than $11 million to support anti-TIP projects in Latin America. A significant percentage of the total U.S. anti-TIP obligations are provided by the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP). How to Measure Success

It is often difficult to measure success in the fight against human trafficking. They also pale in comparison to the number of victims that have been identified in Latin America (9,661 in 2015 alone).
Countries in Latin America serve as source, transit, and destination countries for trafficking in persons (TIP). Victims are exploited within their own countries and trafficked to other countries in the region. Latin America is also a primary source region for people trafficked to the United States, including by transnational organized crime groups. In FY2015, Mexico was the primary country of origin for foreign trafficking victims certified as eligible to receive U.S. assistance. Recent victims identified in the United States also have originated in Brazil and Central America. Smaller numbers of Latin Americans are trafficked to Europe and Asia. Latin America also serves as a transit region for Asian victims.
On June 30, 2016, the State Department issued its 16th annual congressionally mandated report on human trafficking. The report categorizes countries into four "tiers" according to the government's efforts to combat trafficking. Only Tier 1 countries, approximately 19.5% of those assessed, are fully compliant with U.S.-established minimum standards to eliminate severe forms of human trafficking. Those countries that do not cooperate in the fight against trafficking (Tier 3) have been made subject to U.S. aid restrictions. Chile, Colombia, and the Bahamas received the top Tier 1 ranking in this year's report. Belize, Haiti, Suriname, and Venezuela are the only Latin American countries ranked in Tier 3, as Cuba remained in the Tier 2 Watch List. Other countries in the region—Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Costa Rica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago—are on the Tier 2 Watch List.
Since enactment of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA; P.L. 106-386), Congress has taken steps to address human trafficking through legislation (including reauthorizations of the TVPA in 2005, 2008, and 2013), appropriations, and oversight. In February 2016, Congress enacted the International Megan's Law (P.L. 114-119) requiring U.S. agencies to notify foreign governments when registered sex offenders are visiting their countries. Congress also enacted the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-125) eliminating an exception that had allowed goods produced by forced labor to be imported if demand for those items could not be met by U.S. producers.
Congress provided funding for anti-TIP programs in the FY2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 114-113), including $5 million for programs in Guatemala and $4 million for forensics to solve TIP cases in Central America. P.L. 114-113 withheld some aid to the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras until they demonstrated anti-TIP efforts. Congress is monitoring human trafficking trends in the region and overseeing U.S.-funded anti-TIP programs, including U.S.-Mexican law enforcement efforts to disrupt cross-border TIP networks.
For more information, see CRS Report R44581, Trafficking in Persons and U.S. Foreign Policy Responses in the 114th Congress, by [author name scrubbed], and CRS Report R42497, Trafficking in Persons: International Dimensions and Foreign Policy Issues for Congress, by [author name scrubbed].