Crs Report for Congress

Trafficking in persons (TIP) for the purpose of exploitation is a lucrative criminal activity that is of major concern to the United States and the international community. According to the U.S. State Department, as many as 27 million people may be trafficking victims around the world at any given time. In recent years, the largest numbers of trafficking victims have been identified in Africa and Europe; however human trafficking is also a major problem in Latin America. Countries in Latin America serve as source, transit, and destination countries for trafficking victims. Men, women, and children are victimized within their own countries, as well as trafficked to other countries in the region. Latin America is also a primary source region for people trafficked to the United States. In FY2012, for example, primary countries of origin for foreign trafficking victims certified as eligible to receive U.S. assistance included Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala (along with Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia). Smaller numbers of Latin American TIP victims are trafficking to Europe and Asia. Latin America serves as a transit region for Asian TIP victims.