HomeNewsBriefCanadians Among Most Common Sex Tourists in Cuba: Investigation
BRIEF

Canadians Among Most Common Sex Tourists in Cuba: Investigation

CARIBBEAN / 20 MAR 2013 BY MIRIAM WELLS EN

Canadian men are among the most common customers of child prostitutes in Cuba, according to a newspaper investigation which highlights the difficulties of tackling the international sex trade.

A series by the Toronto Star and US newspaper El Nuevo Herald revealed Canadian sex tourists were able to exploit various loopholes aimed at monitoring sex offenders in order to travel to Cuba and abuse children.

The sex offender registry is not accessible to border agents and there is no system for tracking such offenders' movements. Offenders have to inform law enforcement if they are leaving the country but only if it is for more than seven days and they can give notice once they have already gone. Laws allow for the prosecution of Canadian citizens who commit crimes abroad but it is a long and difficult process. Since the legislation was passed in 1997 there have only been five known convictions for sex tourism, "one of the worst records in the Westen world," according to the Toronto Star.

The reporters found hotel staff were easily able to arrange meetings with child prostitutes or their pimps, for as little as $30 a night, as victims and their families sought to escape poverty. Cuba is popular for Canadians as it is has a very low HIV rate and is quicker and cheaper to get to than Southeast Asia, where other popular sex tourism destinations are found. Cuban authorities "deny the problem," said the newspaper.

Following the publication Canada's Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews told the country's House of Commons, "It is clear more needs to be done. (…) We intend to take further action and we welcome the support of the Toronto Star." However, no specific proposals were outlined.

InSight Crime Analysis

The Toronto Star and El Nuevo Herald investigation highlights the immense challenges in dealing with transnational sex crimes. If a country's own border officials are unable to access national sex offender records then clearly coordinated global action is a long way off.

Moreover, the exchange of sex for money, even with children, will persist in Cuba as long as there are islanders desperate for money and visiting tourists with disposable income. A poor population and wealthy visitors create the prime conditions for sex tourism. While measures such as those introduced in Colombia and Costa Rica -- where certain parts of the tourist industry have taken a public stand against child prostitution -- are certainly positive, they are not particulary effective. While the aforementioned conditions exist, people will find places to buy and sell sex.

Criminals across the region have taken advantage of this environment, from local gang members acting as pimps to major organizations such as Mexican cartel the Zetas expanding into international sex trafficking -- although smaller networks control much of the trade throughout Latin America. Human trafficking is now estimated to be the second biggest earner for organized criminals in Central America after drug trafficking.

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

CARIBBEAN / 10 MAR 2023

Jamaica has convicted an infamous gang leader using recently-amended legislation. But has the change in law reduced gang violence?…

ELITES AND CRIME / 4 NOV 2022

Mothers searching for their disappeared loved ones in Mexico face increasing threats and killings.

CARIBBEAN / 10 MAY 2021

High-ranking officials in the Dominican Republic are accused of siphoning millions of dollars in state funds through a religious non-profit,…

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…