HomeNewsBriefSmugglers Moving Dominicans From Bolivia to Chile
BRIEF

Smugglers Moving Dominicans From Bolivia to Chile

BOLIVIA / 19 SEP 2014 BY KYRA GURNEY EN

Authorities in Bolivia have identified a network of Peruvian coyotes dedicated to smuggling Dominicans into Chile, highlighting how economic changes have spurred the development of new migration patterns and accompanying criminal networks.

According to the attorney general of Bolivia's Oruro province, Orlando Riveros, a network of Peruvian coyotes operates in Oruro. The Peruvians have smuggled Dominican migrants over the border into Chile and trafficked men and women for forced labor and sexual exploitation, reported La Razon.

Riveros stated that the Peruvian coyotes transport migrants in buses from Desaguadero, Peru to Oruro, where they spend the night before crossing the border into the Chilean municipality of Pisiga with falsified documents and continuing on to the coastal city of Iquique, reported El Universo.

"The 'Chilean dream' is sought after by Dominican migrants," the official reportedly stated. He suggested Bolivia's migration agency review the status of Dominicans, who are currently allowed to enter the country without a visa.

According to El Universo, there are also indications that Haitian migrants are being smuggled into Chile.

InSight Crime Analysis

Chile's strong economy attracts migrants from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, which -- as evidenced by the group of coyotes in Oruro -- has seen the rise of networks dedicated to human smuggling. In addition to migrants from the Dominican Republic and Haiti, thousands of Bolivians migrate to Chile looking for work. According to the Chilean Consulate in Bolivia, around 20,000 Bolivian migrants live in northern Chile, working mainly in the mining, agricultural, and construction industries.

Unfortunately, the increase in migration has also led to the development of human trafficking networks, which prey on vulnerable migrants. According to the US State Department's 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report (pdf), migrants from Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Colombia, and Ecuador have become forced labor victims in Chile, working in slave-like conditions in the country's mining, agricultural, and domestic service industries.

SEE ALSO: Coverage of Human Trafficking

Brazil has seen a similar phenomenon as the country has become an economic powerhouse. Human smuggling networks have sprouted up in Peru dedicated to moving undocumented migrants through the country and into Brazil. As with Chile, Brazil has also seen a rise in sex trafficking and forced labor

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

GUATEMALA / 8 DEC 2021

A transnational labor trafficking network brought dozens of individuals from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico to the United States under the…

HAITI / 4 NOV 2021

The ability and willingness of Haiti’s gangs to choke off essential services such as power and water, seemingly at will,…

COCAINE / 16 JUN 2023

After the arrest of César Peralta, the Dominican Republic has continued going after remaining cocaine trafficking networks.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…