Venezuelan economic collapse landing hundreds of thousands in exploitation

Criminals in Venezuela are exploiting the country’s economic collapse on a massive scale says a new report. Between forced labor, sexual exploitation and forced marriages, criminal networks are leveraging the current instability and turning it into astronomical profits.

Cashing in on suffering 

$2.6 billion dollars last year alone. That’s how much human trafficking made for exploiters according to a new report by the Venezuelan unit of Transparency International. The collapse of the economy means trafficking scams often begin with fake job offers or promises of housing posted on social media and end in exploitation.  

The Miami Herald stated according to the report: 

“These networks are sophisticated. They prey on trust and desperation (and) most victims are women and adolescents”  

However, the report notes in addition to women and children, other groups are also particularly vulnerable. Indigenous populations and Venezuelans who have fled abroad are of the most vulnerable. And playing a central role in the exploitation are guerrilla and dissident groups. These groups offer “travel packages” across extremely dangerous routes such as the Darién Gap. Sadly, many do not survive the journey, and the migrants who do often experience extreme exploitation, such as being forced into sex work, forced labor and organ trafficking. 

Misery, corruption and mass displacement  

Human trafficking in Venezuela is currently thriving on a tragic blend of misery, corruption and mass displacement, mixed in with drug trafficking, illegal mining and organized crime. Migrants who escape are often without documents. That leaves them ripe for deception, extortion and coercion. Estimates for 2024 are that 364,500 Venezuelans are living in modern slavery. Almost 190,000 of those are trapped in forced labor and nearly 70,000 are victims of sexual exploitation with more than 105,000 forced into marriage.  

Speaking to the rise of trafficking in Venezuela the report said: 

“It very often operates with the active or inactive participation of corrupt civilian and military officials who work with trafficking networks” 

The report noted that thus far, Venezuelan authorities and other nations have not been coordinating in any way to curtail the trafficking rise. Sadly, that means there is little to stop exploitation from continuing to rise, generating millions more in profits for traffickers. Without systemic reforms, transparency and international cooperation, Venezuelans remain extremely vulnerable to exploitation on a massive scale. 

Trafficking spreading with migration 

Unsurprisingly, while this trafficking crisis begins behind Venezuela’s borders, it doesn’t stop there. Venezuelan victims are being exploited around the world, with cases surfacing in Aruba, The Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Ecuador, Egypt, Germany, Guyana, Haiti, Macau, Iceland, Mexico, Panama, Peru, China, Dominican Republic, Spain, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay according to official reports. That’s why Freedom United is advocating for safe migration routes for migrants everywhere.

Globally, a lack of safe migration routes combined with punitive immigration policies are contributing to increasing vulnerabilities to human trafficking and modern slavery for all people on the move. And even worse, governments use anti-trafficking rhetoric to justify these harmful policies. Stand with us in saying not in our name!