HomeNewsAnalysisIncreased Profits, Abuse in Mexico's Human Trafficking Rings
ANALYSIS

Increased Profits, Abuse in Mexico's Human Trafficking Rings

HUMAN SMUGGLING / 15 DEC 2010 BY INSIGHT CRIME EN

The Mexican government has done little to protect migrants from organized criminal groups like the Zetas, says a report released Tuesday. 

Released by the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), the 11-page report argues that by treating migration as a security issue, Mexico has inadvertently put more power into the hands of criminal groups. Policies discourage migrants from reporting abuses like kidnapping, extortion, rape and murder, while corrupt immigration and police agents are rarely penalized.

Evidence suggests the kidnapping of migrants is an increasingly important source of cash for drug-trafficking gangs like the Zetas, the report notes. To the north, beefed-up border security in the U.S. has intensified the demand for human smugglers. This has created new business opportunities for gangs looking to diversify their criminal portfolio. The same has happened along Mexico's southern border, where thousands of Central American migrants begin their journey to the U.S. each year.

According to the Mexico City Human Rights Commission, human trafficking is the third most profitable industry in the world. Profits can reach $9.5 million a year, said the organization's executive secretary, Jose Guitierrez Espindola. 

"It is much more profitable to sell a person than to sell cocaine," he told Proceso.

A study issued last year by the Commission found that in a six-month period, organized gangs kidnapped 9,194 migrants.

"Although migrants might be considered an improbable target for kidnapping, their undocumented status in Mexico, the limited number of routes they take to travel through Mexico – mainly determined by the train routes, which tend to coincide with territories for which drug cartels are battling– their easy identification, and their high numbers make them an attractive  target for organized criminal groups," notes the WOLA report.

Stringent border policies in the U.S. and Mexico have also forced migrants to travel in more rural, isolated areas, increasing the likelihood of abuse.

The increased involvement of gangs in human smuggling may also indicate that especially at the U.S. border, it has become more difficult to traffic drugs, forcing criminal groups to look for other sources of funding.

Mexico announced a new strategy to address migrant abuse after the Zetas massacred 72 people in Tamaulipas last August. The revised strategy includes new measures to enhance the protection of migrants, including removing one statute requiring authorities to verify an individual's legal status before providing medical or police assistance. 

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

HUMAN RIGHTS / 28 JAN 2022

A number of media workers in Mexico have been shot and killed, stabbed to death and ambushed in armed attacks…

CANADA / 13 DEC 2021

The story of the Mexican cartels and their influence abroad has mostly focused on the United States. But a number…

MARIJUANA / 13 DEC 2022

The legalization of marijuana at the state level in the US has forced organized crime groups in Mexico to adapt…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…