TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS IN BELIZE - OAS

underlined the fact that the ways of exploitation vary from place to place. “The
task of attempting to describe, gain knowledge of and understand the way these
trafficking networks operate suggests the complexity of the situation. To the
extent that we became clearly aware of the plurality of the people involved in
the trafficking and of the existence of several forms of networks –some more
organized and some more informal- explains the phenomenon. Therefore, it is
impossible to conclude that there is a prototypical organization with a
determined logic. To the contrary, the investigation shows that the multiplicity of
organisms and situations, in one way or another, are all related to the subject.
Being warned by the complexity of the problem suggests the urgent necessity of
seeking out integral responses”. 5
The research also dealed with the lack of adequate border controls, many times
due to corruptive behavior that violates law enforcement. The permeability of
frontier towns is alarming. The traffic of persons through Central America is an
undeniable reality that deserves the creation of instruments for rescue and
reinsertion at the regional level. Stories are told of the chilling transfers that
demonstrate a great inefficiency in the customs controls and the corruption of
the same. It is often said that “on the border everything has a price”. This is a
cruel reality when addressing the trafficking of persons…” 6
The De Paul University research draws the main routs that smuggling and
human trafficking use. “Trafficking activity has been detected at all levels. In
network terms, the Central American region can be divided following a northsouth
line, with Nicaragua as a departure point for migratory flow in both
directions. A trafficking case that starts in Nicaragua will probably follow a path
that includes Honduras, possibly El Salvador and will finish in Guatemala,
Belize or the south of Mexico. Women and children are recruited in Honduras to
work in El Salvador, Guatemala and Belize. El Salvador is a supplier spot for
Guatemala, Mexico and Belize. And Guatemala is a supplier for southern
Mexico and Belize. From the testimonies and cases that have been collected,
we can conclude that the trafficking from Nicaragua towards Mexico is done
mainly by road. The flaw towards the north is supported by the free transit treaty
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