Drug trafficking remains the single most important activity of organized criminal groups in the Americas. This includes trafficking of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and other synthetic drugs. Illegal drugs are produced, processed, stored and shipped from the region. They are also increasingly consumed. The trafficking and consumption destabilizes nearly every country that forms part of the production and distribution chain. Some of these countries are facing challenges that are, in some ways, bigger than the fights they had during prolonged civil wars. Without the resources or knowledge, the governments of these nations are succumbing to powerful mega-structures that are able to subordinate poorly paid civil servants and buy off large portions of the state’s security apparatus.

Human trafficking involves buying and selling human beings for use as forced or underpaid labor. It is closely linked to migrant smuggling, and the two are often difficult to distinguish. The trafficking of Latin American migrants over the U.S.'s southern border is estimated to be worth $6.6 billion a year to criminal groups.

The distinction between the two industries is that victims of human trafficking are tricked or coerced by their smugglers. This can mean luring the victim with the promise of a legitimate job, but then forcing them into prostitution or to work in a sweat shop. It can also involve telling them they have racked up a large debt to the smugglers, and must work unpaid in order to clear it. Because the purpose is to exploit the trafficked person, they will normally be moved away from their support networks, either from one region of their country to another, or across national borders. The United Nations estimates that 250,000 people are held under conditions of forced labor, including sexual exploitation, in Latin America and the Caribbean at any one time.

An important sub-category of the human trafficking industry is sex trafficking. This is the sale of people, mostly women, for commercial sexual exploitation. This can take place even when a victim has initially agreed to carry out sex work, if they are then forced to carry on doing this through physical or psychological means.

Migrants, however, are willing participants who pay their smugglers to transport them into another country. This can blur into human trafficking if the migrants are kidnapped or exploited by their transporters, or other groups. Migrants on their way to the U.S. generally have to pass through parts of Mexico controlled by criminal gangs. These gangs exploit the vulnerabilities of the travellers, who have little recourse to the law. They extort entire families, sometime several times over several different borders, during one single trip. The gangs sometimes sell their cargo into indentured servitude where they are virtually enslaved until they pay off their “debts.” Migrants are often used as mules to carry drugs and other contraband.

The United Nations estimates that the smuggling of migrants from Latin America into the U.S. represents a $6.6 billion per year business for organized criminal groups. They draw this money from the nearly 3 million people, mostly immigrants from the region moving north to the United States, who relocate every year, paying between $2,000 and $10,000 per trip.

The reasons for these migrations include economic hardship, political persecution, and family ties. These migrants have become vital providers for their families at home. Remittances sent from the United States to El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala represent close to 10 percent of the GDP of these three countries.

The massive trade in humans starts as far south as Argentina and almost always passes through Mexico. The entry points into the U.S., while often well guarded, rarely change. They include Tijuana, Mexicali, Nogales, Ciudad Juarez, Laredo, Reynosa and Matamoros. The migrants are often held in “safe-houses” on the U.S. side while relatives or friends pay off the remaining sums demanded by the traffickers. The vast majority who pass over the U.S. border -- close to 90 percent -- are from Mexico. Most of the rest come from Central America. These Central American migrants pay more money and face more obstacles en route, including the threat from criminal gangs like the Mara Salvatrucha or the Zetas, and corrupt police who kidnap and extort them during their journey. Still, the United Nations estimates that many of the migrant smuggling routes are still controlled by smaller, “mom and pop” operations.

Other migrants passing through Latin America include Chinese people who are trafficked through the region, most notably through Colombia and the Darien Gap in Panama, on their way to the United States. Wealthier Asians are known to purchase false passports in places like Guatemala and Venezuela, which allow them to transit more easily into European countries like Spain.

Resources

• “Posture Statement of General Douglas M. Fraser,” United Air Force Commander, United States Southern Command, before the House Armed Services Committee, 18 March 2010. (pdf)
• “The Globalization of Crime: A Transnational Organized Crime Threat Assessment,” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 17 June 2010.
• Trafficking in Victims Protection Act (United States, 28 October 2000).
• "Trafficking in Persons Report 2010," United States Department of State.