US embassy cable - 05GUATEMALA545

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 GUATEMALA 000545 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AID, G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRWM, IWI, WHA/PPC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, PHUM, KWMN, SMIG, KFRD, ASEC, PREF, ELAB, KCOR, EAID, KPAO, GT 
SUBJECT: GUATEMALA 2004 TIP REPORT 
 
REF: A. GUATEMALA 307 
 
     B. 04 STATE 274736 
     C. 04 STATE 154857 
     D. 04 STATE 273089 
 
1. Summary:  The Government of Guatemala (GOG) achieved 
remarkable success in its efforts to combat trafficking in 
persons (TIP) during the reporting period, particularly in 
the development of new legal instruments to criminalize TIP 
activities.  We note that Guatemala has achieved or made 
significant progress on every point of the 2004 Tier 2 Watch 
List Action Plan.  For this reason, we recommend that 
Guatemala be removed from the Tier 2 Watch List and we also 
nominate two of Guatemala's chief anti-TIP activists as 
"heroes" in the fight against TIP.  We also recommend 
Guatemala's establishment and use of an Inter-Institutional 
Working Group on TIP as a "best practice."  End summary. 
 
Success in fighting TIP 
----------------------- 
 
2. The Government of Guatemala (GOG) achieved remarkable 
success in its efforts to combat trafficking in persons (TIP) 
during the reporting period, particularly in the development 
of new legal instruments to criminalize TIP activities, as 
reported ref (A).  We were pleased with the positive tone of 
Guatemala's interim report provided ref (B) and note in this 
submission that Guatemala has achieved or made significant 
progress on every point of the 2004 Tier 2 Watch List Action 
Plan, provided in ref (C).  For this reason, we recommend 
that Guatemala be removed from the Tier 2 Watch List. 
 
3. As requested in the Action Plan, the Government of 
Guatemala has: 
 
-- increased investigations, arrests, and prosecutions of 
traffickers, 
 
-- achieved Congressional passage of penal code reforms to 
stiffen anti-TIP penalties, 
 
-- continued to work with Casa Alianza to identify centers of 
underage prostitution and conducted raids of those locations, 
 
-- prosecuted traffickers arrested in 2004, 
 
-- named an official to keep track of prosecutions, 
 
-- issued a request for bids to rehabilitate the TIP shelter 
in Coatepeque, 
 
-- taken steps to identify and rescue trafficking victims, 
 
-- sought data on numbers of foreign women in Guatemala 
engaged in the commercial sex industry, 
 
-- had senior government officials speak out on trafficking, 
 
-- carried out public awareness programs by the Secretariat 
for Social Communication and Immigration Service, 
 
-- continued to train police and immigration officials on TIP, 
 
-- shown progress in reducing TIP-related corruption, 
 
-- implemented the TIP Memorandum of Understanding with the 
Government of Mexico, and 
 
-- engaged other regional governments in discussions on 
anti-TIP activities. 
 
4. As requested ref (D), we have designated Labor Officer 
Troy Fitrell as the point of contact for TIP issues; 
telephone (502) 2326-4635, fax (502) 2334-8474.  An FS-02, he 
spent approximately 20 hours in the production of the 2004 
TIP report.  An FS-04 political officer also spent 
approximately 10 hours in the production of the 2004 TIP 
report.  The data provided below are keyed to the questions 
in paras 18-23 of ref (D). 
 
5. Overview 
 
A. Guatemala is a country of origin, transit, and destination 
for international trafficking victims.  According to one NGO 
study, there are 600-700 minors in centers of prostitution 
across the country, but reliable statistics do not exist on 
other forms of trafficking.  For example, there were reports 
(but no reliable estimates) of forced labor trafficking 
mainly involving children used in begging rings in Guatemala 
City. 
B. Foreign trafficking victims in Guatemala are predominant 
from El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.  Outside of 
Guatemala, Guatemalans primarily fall victim to trafficking 
in Mexico. 
 
C. There have been no great changes in direction or extent of 
trafficking.  The increase in trafficking cases in the 
judicial system is a result of greater attention and effort 
by Guatemalan authorities. 
 
D. The Government of Guatemala (GOG) has requested USG 
support to conduct such a survey, as have several NGOs, 
including Catholic Relief Services.  No such survey, however, 
has been undertaken.  Casa Alianza actively surveys suspected 
centers of prostitution around the country to provide 
guidance to the PNC for subsequent raids. 
 
E. The majority of trafficking victims are forced to work in 
the commercial sex industry.  Violence, threats, withholding 
documents, and debt bondage are all common methods used by 
traffickers. 
 
F. Poor, young, unemployed or underemployed women and girls 
are the primary targets for traffickers.  Job offers in the 
larger cities or in foreign countries are provided as 
inducements, although many victims were already migrating and 
were ensnared by traffickers during their journeys, often at 
border crossings.  Migrants who failed to cross the border 
into Mexico often remained in the country and resorted to or 
were forced into prostitution.  Many women and children were 
brought into the country from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and 
Honduras by organized rings that forced them into 
prostitution.  Brothel owners often were responsible for 
transporting and employing victims of trafficking. 
Traffickers of persons frequently had links to other 
organized crime, including drug trafficking and smuggling of 
migrants and contraband. 
 
G. The GOG has demonstrated exceptional political will to 
fight trafficking in persons, demonstrated by the regular 
statements of President Berger, Vice President Stein, and 
several cabinet ministers.  The GOG's good faith efforts have 
directly addressed the protection of victims, the prosecution 
of traffickers, the development of new legal initiatives, and 
greater intra-governmental and inter-governmental cooperation 
to fight TIP.  In terms of prevention, the Ministry of 
Government has signed an agreement with an internationally 
recognized NGO to provide anti-TIP training to its 
immigration authorities and police force.  In terms of 
protection, the Secretariat for Social Welfare operates a 
shelter for victims, coordinates with several privately-run 
shelters, and is rehabilitating a large shelter near the 
Mexican border to care for underage victims.  In terms of 
prosecution, the Attorney General's Office and the National 
Civilian Police (PNC) have established dedicated units to 
investigate and prosecute trafficking cases.  The Guatemalan 
Congress passed a new anti-TIP law designed to give the PNC 
and the Attorney General's Office greater prosecutorial tools 
with enhanced punitive sanctions. 
 
H. There were credible reports of police and immigration 
service involvement and complicity in TIP.  A 2002 ECPAT 
study included reports that immigration officials took bribes 
from traffickers, gave the victims fake identification 
papers, and allowed them to cross borders.  There were 
credible reports that brothel owners allowed police and 
immigration officials to have sex with victims without 
charge.  The PNC's Office of Professional Responsibility 
(ORP) arrested a police officer who co-owned three brothels. 
Underage prostitutes were found at all three.  The GOG is 
committed to investigating and prosecuting all forms of 
corruption or malfeasance in public service agencies. 
 
I. Limitations on the government's ability to address TIP 
involve the lack of resources to fund shelters, 
rehabilitation efforts, and investigation and prosecutorial 
teams.  In a larger sense, the lack of common understanding 
of the nature of TIP affects the ability of the GOG to act. 
Corruption is a problem at the lower levels of police and 
immigration services. 
 
J. The PNC, Attorney General's Office, and the Secretariat 
for Social Welfare all issue annual reports on their 
activities. 
 
K. Prostitution is not criminalized for those over the age of 
18, although pandering, pimping, inducement to prostitution, 
and otherwise promoting prostitution is illegal. 
 
6. Prevention 
 
A. At the highest levels, the GOG recognizes the seriousness 
of TIP. 
 
B. The PNC, Immigration Service, Secretariat for Social 
Welfare, Attorney General's Office, and the Ministries of 
Government, Foreign Relations, Education, and Health are all 
involved in direct anti-trafficking efforts. 
C. The Secretariat for Social Welfare provided educational 
materials on child sexual exploitation to the public primary 
and secondary school system.  The Secretariat for Social 
Communication publicized anti-TIP materials in high-impact 
areas.  The Immigration Service also launched a campaign at 
all border crossings to educate the public on the risks of 
trafficking. 
 
D. The GOG actively supports programs designed to increase 
women's participation in economic decision-making and to keep 
children in school.  In addition to its national programs, 
the GOG actively encourages ILO/IPEC, USAID, and other donors 
to assist in these issues as well. 
 
E. A lack of resources hampers the GOG's prevention programs. 
 For this reason the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has 
the inter-institutional lead on TIP for the GOG, requested 
USG support for a broad public awareness and prevention 
program. 
 
F. The GOG has an excellent working relationship with NGOs 
active in the fight against TIP.  The GOG's 
Inter-Institutional Working Group welcomes participation by 
NGOs, IOs, and the donor community in the development of 
coordinated anti-TIP activities.  Furthermore, the PNC and 
Casa Alianza work closely together to develop intelligence on 
locations of TIP victims in order to undertake raids to 
rescue them.  Following the raids, minor victims are usually 
taken to Casa Alianza for counseling and other social 
services.  The PNC and Casa Alianza also worked together to 
establish a missing children database and website.  Also, the 
NGO End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and 
Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT) provided 
anti-TIP training to GOG institutions, including the PNC. 
 
G. Guatemala's border with Mexico is long and, for much of 
its length, extremely rural.  For this reason, monitoring the 
border for all kinds of criminal activity is extremely 
difficult. 
 
H. The GOG's Inter-Institutional Working Group on TIP was 
broad-based, met regularly, and played a critical role in the 
development of anti-TIP strategy.  The Inter-Institutional 
Working Group on TIP is chaired by the Vice Minister for 
Foreign Relations and includes the Ministries of Foreign 
Relations, Government (Interior), Labor, Health, and 
Education; the Presidential Secretariats for Social Welfare, 
Women, and Social Communication; the Attorney General's 
Office; the Presidential Commission on Human Rights; the 
Judiciary; and Congress.  While no official task force on 
corruption exists, there is a Presidential Commissioner for 
Transparency who coordinates anti-corruption activities 
throughout the GOG.  Within the PNC, the Office of 
Professional Responsibility actively investigates and 
punishes wrong-doing by police officers, and some of these 
cases lead to criminal charges. 
 
I. The GOG participates in all multinational fora regarding 
TIP.  In addition, the GOG has engaged in extensive bilateral 
efforts.  The GOG negotiated and implemented a Memorandum of 
Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Mexico to 
coordinate the fight against TIP, which entered into force on 
February 22, 2005.  The two governments also developed an MOU 
on repatriation to improve the treatment of victims of 
trafficking in the repatriation process.  The GOG also has 
repatriation agreements for minor victims of trafficking with 
El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica. 
 
J. The GOG's national action plan included the successful 
establishment of the special police and prosecution units to 
combat TIP and established the Inter-Institutional Working 
Group on TIP to coordinate GOG action.  The working group is 
currently updating the national action plan to achieve new 
goals. 
 
K. The Chairperson of the Inter-Institutional Working Group 
on TIP is Vice Minister of Foreign Relations Marta 
Altolaguirre.  Her office has the lead on GOG coordination 
and also on a public relations program designed to increase 
public awareness and understanding of the dangers of TIP. 
While individual GOG agencies plan their own activities, all 
anti-TIP activity is coordinated through the Ministry of 
Foreign Relations. 
 
7. Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers 
A. Guatemala recently enacted strong new legislation to 
criminalize all forms of TIP and earnings from TIP.  The new 
language amended Article 194 of the Penal Code to state that 
"Whoever obliges, promotes, induces, facilitates, finances, 
collaborates, or participates in the transport, transfer, 
acceptance, or reception of people, obtaining an economic 
gain, commits the crime of trafficking in persons and must 
serve prison time."  This language greatly strengthens 
Guatemala's Penal Code in regard to TIP issues.  The previous 
language only considered the limited aspect of women crossing 
national borders for the purposes of prostitution.  The 
revision not only expands the definition of who would be 
guilty of trafficking, but also removes the limitation that 
only women can be victims and that prosecutors must prove 
that the intent of the trafficking was for the purpose of 
prostitution.  Traffickers can also be prosecuted under laws 
prohibiting pandering, sexual procurement, and inducement to 
prostitution, as well as fraud and other criminal financial 
activity.  All of these laws are being used to combat TIP. 
While other legal proposals to combat TIP are still under 
consideration by the working group, the legal framework to 
cover the full scope of TIP is in place. 
 
B. In addition to broadening the definition of TIP, the new 
law strengthened the punishments available to judges upon 
sentencing.  The new law establishes prison sentences of 
between seven and twelve years for those found guilty of 
trafficking, up from the previous range of one to three 
years.  Moreover, punishments under the new law are 
automatically increased by one third if the victim is a minor 
and by two thirds if the victims suffer physical harm.  The 
new legislation does not include differences between sexual 
and labor exploitation as part of trafficking.  The penalties 
are the same. 
 
C. The Penal Code requires sentences between six and 50 years 
for rape convictions.  The Penal Code does not define sexual 
assault. 
 
D. The Attorney General's Office opened 40 cases specifically 
linked to TIP and achieved six convictions, with fines 
ranging from USD 375 to 800 (3000-6000 Quetzales).  These 
cases were prosecuted under the previous legal regime, and so 
the convictions were for the lesser offenses of pandering and 
sexual abuse of minors.  No jail time was assessed for these 
convictions. 
 
E. There has been no systemic study; however, most observers 
believe that brothel owners often were responsible for 
transporting and employing victims of trafficking. 
Traffickers of persons frequently had links to other 
organized crime, including drug trafficking and smuggling of 
migrants and contraband.  Small crime groups and larger 
organized crime syndicates are behind much of the trafficking. 
 
F. The GOG actively investigated trafficking.  The PNC's 
Special Unit on TIP conducted 114 bar raids during the 
reporting period, resulting in 43 arrests.  Many 
investigative -- such as wiretap authority -- are not legally 
available to Guatemalan law enforcement agencies, although 
undercover operations are allowed and are used. 
 
G. The GOG has an agreement with ECPAT to provide a 
train-the-trainer program to the police academy and to the 
immigration authorities.  The GOG also developed with the 
International Organization for Migration an anti-TIP training 
program for public servants. 
 
H. The MOUs with Mexico are designed to allow for cooperative 
investigations, but TIP cases with Mexico generally reflect 
cases of Guatemalans resident within Mexico's borders. 
 
I. The GOG has neither received nor submitted an extradition 
request directly related to TIP, but there is no legal 
prohibition to extradition of Guatemalan nationals. 
 
J. There is no evidence of GOG involvement in TIP.  At lower 
levels, charges have been made against individual police 
officers, which have been thoroughly investigated. 
 
K. The GOG is currently prosecuting a police officer who 
co-owned three brothels where minor victims of trafficking 
were found. 
 
L. Guatemala has no identified child sex tourism problem. 
The Guatemalan penal code has no extraterritorial coverage. 
 
M. Guatemala has ratified ILO Conventions 29, 105, and 182, 
as well as the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the 
Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child 
prostitution, and child pornography.  Guatemala has also 
signed and acceded to the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and 
Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, 
supplementing the UN Convention Against Transnational 
Organized Crime. 
 
8. Protection and Assistance to Victims 
 
A. The GOG does assist victims by providing shelter and 
access to legal, medical, job training, and counseling 
services, but the availability of these services was 
inadequate.  Adult trafficking victims are generally 
deported, although they are not treated as criminals.  In 
2004, the Secretariat for Social Welfare provided assistance 
to 275 minors were living on the street, sexually exploited, 
or otherwise abused. 
 
B. NGOs provide extensive services to TIP victims, but these 
activities are funded through the NGOs' own sources. 
 
C. Minor victims are generally referred to Casa Alianza and 
other NGOs, for care, protective custody, and job training 
when encountered by law enforcement agencies.  Victims 
repatriated from Mexico to Guatemala are referred to the 
Secretariat for Social Welfare's shelter in Quetzaltenango. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
D. Victims are generally not treated as criminals and are not 
jailed, detained, or prosecuted.  Adult victims from other 
countries are, however, frequently deported. 
 
E. Victims are encouraged to provide testimony, but civil 
cases are nonexistent.  There is no victim restitution 
program. 
 
F. The GOG operates a shelter for TIP victims in 
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala's second-largest city which is 
located relatively close to the Mexican border.  The GOG is 
rehabilitating another shelter located much closer to the 
main border-crossing points to Mexico.  This new shelter in 
Coatepeque is intended for minor victims.  The GOG budget 
provides USD 167,000 (1.3 million Quetzales) for this purpose 
in 2005 and the USG has also allocated an additional USD 
80,000 to equip the facility.  The project is, therefore, 
fully funded. 
 
G. The GOG, through an agreement with ECPAT, provided 
specialized anti-TIP training to GOG officials.  The GOG also 
encouraged its embassies and consulates to engage NGOs and 
host governments on the issue.  The GOG developed an anti-TIP 
training program in cooperation with the International 
Organization for Migration for embassy and consulate staffs. 
 
H. The GOG provides shelter to its repatriated nationals at 
the shelter described above in Quetzaltenango. 
 
I. Casa Alianza, Casa del Migrante, and Casa de la Mujer all 
provide direct shelter, counseling, and services to 
trafficking victims.  With support from USAID, the Oblate 
Sisters run a shelter and vocational training center for 
victims and women at risk of being trafficked on the border 
with Mexico.  This effort will be a model for other programs 
in Guatemala and other parts of Central America.  ILO/IPEC, 
UNICEF, Catholic Relief Services, and ECPAT, amongst others, 
provide financing and counsel to such efforts and run 
programs to minimize the occurrence of TIP and to mitigate 
its effects. 
 
9. Heroes:  We are pleased to nominate two Heroes for their 
anti-trafficking activities. 
 
A. Vice Minister for Foreign Relations Marta Altolaguirre has 
been a driving force in Guatemala regarding all aspects of 
anti-TIP activity.  She conceived the idea of an 
Inter-Institutional Working Group on TIP and successfully 
sold the idea to the President.  She then used this political 
support to ensure that participation was at a high level and 
included NGOs and interested diplomatic and donor missions. 
She chaired the working group and developed a national action 
plan, including the revision of Guatemalan law to aid justice 
agencies to investigate and prosecute cases.  Altolaguirre 
brought her long and distinguished career in human rights to 
bear on the formulation of Guatemala's anti-TIP policies, 
ensuring that TIP was addressed in all its facets, not just 
as a law enforcement problem.  Under her direction, the 
working group developed two legislative reforms:  the first 
very specifically criminalized TIP and its related activities 
to give the justice system important prosecutorial tools 
while the second more broadly addressed all forms of social 
abuse.  The Vice Minister recognized that the two projects 
were not mutually exclusive and ensured that the working 
group supported them both.  The Vice Minister also used her 
position to develop international cooperation on the subject, 
including the MOU with the Government of Mexico and extended 
consultations with USG agencies. 
 
B. Casa Alianza Director Arturo Echevarria directly aided 
trafficking victims more than any other person.  Echevarria 
enacted a nation-wide survey of commercial sex establishments 
to develop intelligence regarding the location of TIP 
victims.  Police authorities told us that they consider this 
survey the most reliable source of information in Guatemala 
regarding TIP and that it is the basis for their raids. 
Echevarria usually accompanied the PNC on these raids because 
the PNC refer all trafficking victims to Casa Alianza for 
treatment.  Echevarria was also an enthusiastic participant 
in the inter-agency working group on TIP and his expertise in 
both social support and law enforcement activity was the 
foundation for the new legal initiatives to combat 
trafficking. 
 
10. Best Practices 
 
We strongly recommend the development of an 
Inter-Institutional Working Group as a "Best Practice" to 
combat TIP.  The process followed by the GOG to establish 
such a working group is an excellent example for other 
nations.  First, the GOG designated a lead agency and, more 
importantly, a lead individual with the experience and 
knowledge to handle the subject, plus the managerial capacity 
to accommodate competing agendas.  Then, the national 
executive ensured that all relevant agencies would 
participate at a senior level, thus ensuring that decisions 
reached in the working group could be implemented.  Finally, 
the working group encouraged the participation of NGOs, IOs, 
and diplomatic and donor missions, in order to take advantage 
of their respective skill sets.  Once this working group was 
established, it met regularly to focus on very specific 
goals.  In this way, action plans and draft legislation were 
developed effectively and in a manner of consensus. 
HAMILTON