Appeal to Government of Belize: Contents

“Stop Human Trafficking in Belize” Introduction. . . . . . . . . . 1

Belize No Convitions . . . . . . . . . 1

Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
INTRODUCTION Prosecution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Immigration . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
A human trafficking corridor Liquor Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Belize is a corridor for human trafficking in Central America. Recommended Measures . . . . . 3

Prosecution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Belize is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and Immigration . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
children who are victims of human trafficking. Belize is a Tier 2 Watch List Liquor Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
country according to the US government’s Trafficking in Persons Report 2010.
Appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Under Belize’s adopted Trafficking in Person’s Prohibition Act 2003, its Appeal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
government is obligated to: investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses and Appeal Dist. List. . . . . . . . . . . . 4
convict and punish human trafficking offenders, including any allegedly com-
plicit public officials; maintain law enforcement efforts against forced labor;
and provide penalties for sex trafficking crimes.

No human trafficking convictions

Belize maintains an extremely poor record with respect to protecting hu-
man trafficking victims and does not vigilantly pursue or prosecute criminals
responsible. Significantly, Belize has not reported a conviction for human
trafficking since 2005.

Belize claims that prosecution is difficult given few victims are willing to
testify. However, if victims were protected, as the TPPA provides, more cases
would come to trial.

Immigration system supports entrenched human trafficking

Belize’s immigration system, punctuated by porous borders, is central to a
long-standing and entrenched human trafficking system.

Corruption is also well entrenched within the immigration department and

is the foundation of the human trafficking problem. Corruption examples
include accepting payments for expediting visa applications, 30-day tourist
stamps and the like.

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Inadequate liquor licensing laws abet human trafficking
Further, Belize’s human trafficking system relies on the absence of adequate and
forceful liquor license laws, effectively giving license to the bars that profit from hu- Amparo Zetina, owner of the
man trafficking -- in particular, women victims unwillingly bonded to prostitution. Caracol Bar, located in Corozal,
was formally arraigned on one
The term “ficha bar” is commonly used to describe drinking establishments that count of human trafficking.
profit from prostitution and usually exploit sex trafficking victims. Ficha bars are Zetina was offered a $3,000-
not scrupulously monitored for liquor license offences, which include penalties for bail and two securities of the
on-premise prostitution.
same amount.
Action required on five fronts Zetina, a cousin of then
As such, Belize’s entrenched human trafficking system requires immediate Director of Immigration, has
action on five fronts: yet to be prosecuted.
1. Prosecute and convict traffickers
2. Enforce immigration laws; standardize and implement
immigration protocols and practices
3. Strengthen and enforce liquor licensing laws
4. Prosecute police for failure to protect trafficking victims
5. Prosecute known traffickers

Three Police Officers Arrested

THE BELIZE HUMAN TRAFFICKING PROSECUTION Caught smuggling illegal immigrants
across the western border of Belize.
RECORD – A REVIEW They were arraigned after authorities
found eight illegal immigrants,
While Belize re-authorized the Trafficking in Persons Prohibition Act 2003 in 2003 believed to be from Honduras and
and 2005, there have been no convictions since 2005. El Salvador, in a van driven on an
alleged human trafficking mission.
In a country where 1,000 victums are monthly transited through its well-traveled Disciplinary hearings exonerated one
human trafficking passages, the level of law enforcement and prosecution of known of the officers but found the other
criminals does not come close to matching the trafficking crime rate. two guilty and recommended their
dismissal. A criminal trial of the two
There are many examples, including the case of Jitendra Chawla. The proprietor of is still pending.
Xtra House had all six counts of unlawfully withholding travel documents dismissed
when Magistrate Margaret Gabb upheld a no case submission from Dean Barrow.

Hilberto Triminus, owner of Mira Montes Bar, located in Orange Walk, was
charged with one count of human trafficking after six illegal immigrant women
were found in his establishment. Prior to the trafficking charge, Triminus had been
charged with attempted murder of a police officer.

THE BELIZE IMMIGRATION PROBLEM – A REVIEW

Traffickers rely on bribery at Belize borders to ensure that their human trafficking
victims easily enter, cross and leave the country.

Two immigration officers, believed involved in taking bribes to allow foreign sex
trade workers to enter Belize, were charged in Magistrates Court. Arrested under
the 2008-minted human trafficking laws, they were not convicted.

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Border protocols and procedures do not meet international standards, particu-
larly those at more remote crossing points. Belize is well known for these sorts of
remote and porous immigration offices.

The following three border crossings, known routes for

traffickers, are particularly lacking in standards and oversight:
• Melchor is a border crossing with a station and a check in. Since
immigration officers are paid off, trafficked women come across in the
trunks of taxis on a regular basis.
• Jalacte is a completely unmanned border crossing between Guatemala
and Belize with bus service to the border crossing.
• Barranco is a completely unmanned point of entry. There is a good road out Melchor Border Crossing
of Barranco with connections to many highways.

LIQUOR LICENSING LAWS – A REVIEW

Many Belize bars are the end-point for human trafficking. All bars require a
liquor license to serve alcohol. If Belize liquor licensing laws were strengthened
to include suspension of license for human trafficking-related crime, including sex
trafficking, many of the traffickers’ wholesale customers, i.e., bar owners, could be
eliminated.

The following is taken directly from the BELIZE INTOXICATING LIQUOR Immigration raids are common when
LICENSING ACT, CHAPTER 150,REVISED EDITION 2000 (SHOWING new officers take over an area. The
THE LAW AS AT 31ST DECEMBER, 2000): Island of Ambergris Caye is a prime
example. In 2009 a series of raids re-
This is a revised edition of the law, prepared by the Law Revision Commissioner under the sulted in a sweep of known ficha bars.
authority of the Law Revision Sixty-five women were detained: some
deported, some fined and some went
If any licence holder knowingly permits his premises to be the habitual resort of or place of meet-
to prison. No bar owners or traffickers
ing of reputed thieves or of reputed prostitutes, whether the object of the meeting or resorting of
such prostitutes is or is not prostitution, he is, if he allows them to remain longer thereon than is were fined or detained. The Prime
necessary for the purpose of obtaining reasonable refreshment, guilty of an offence and is liable Ministers’ nephew, Immigration
to a fine not exceeding for the first offence fifty dollars, and any conviction for an offence under Officer Dryer, ran the operations.
this section shall, unless the magistrate otherwise directs, be recorded on the licence of the person
convicted.

The Act should be strengthened to include penalties, such as liquor license suspension
and fines, for bar owners whose establishments profit from human trafficking victims.

Enforce current laws

In the immediate term, a full scale and legitimate investigation of and crack down on bars
known to profit from on-premises prostitution should take place. Bars where prostitution
is in evidence should receive maximum penalties under the current liquor license laws.
Tourist resort areas should be the initial targets of the initiative. Areas containing high
concentrations of ficha bars include Orange Walk, Ambergris Caye and Belize City, includ-
ing the Ladyville area.

However, given its outstandingly large number of ficha bars, San Pedro, Am-
bergris Caye, should be the example to other offenders. First on the investiga-
tion lists should be the following bars: Tinapa, Black & White, Back-A-Town,
Riverside, Big Daddy’s, Mings, Las Amigos, Pedro’s, Sport Bar, Jovinies, The Pink
Motel and Tackle Box.

June 15, 2010  www.huntinghumantraffickers.com

RECOMMENDED MEASURES
Prosecution - enforce established laws designed to address human trafficking, Known traffickers who provide
including prosecuting corrupt police officers human trafficking victims
to Orange Walk bars should
Immigration - simple and inexpensive actions that should be implemented so be detained and questioned.
that Belize immigration offices do not operate independent of immigration de-
These include a woman known
partments. Here are two simple and inexpensive actions that should be im-
as Michele Philips and a woman
plemented and controlled by immigration departments.
known as Erma, who manages the
Black & White Bar. Both women
1.Protocols in place and standards enforced at all border crossings – i.e., are well known to immigration
system to keep track of all documents and individuals who pass through officials for their human trafficking
the borders. While some Belize border offices have computer systems, activities.
they are mostly window dressing and not used for efficient immigration
monitoring purposes
2.Training, monitoring of immigration staff; enforcement of standards;
penalties and/or criminal proceedings against staff who do not comply
with standard customs protocols controlled by immigration departments.
Liquor License Laws – strengthened to provide for suspension of license and Appeal distribution List
fines for bar owners found to be profiting from human trafficking. NHTRC@polarisproject.org
info@notforsalecampaign.com
peacefund@oas.org
refworld@unhcr.org
APPEAL editor@caribbeannetnews.com

In submitting this appeal to Belize, I am urging the Dean Barrow government to belizemfa@btl.net
act immediately and address human trafficking along and within its borders. econdev@btl.net

Specifically, I am endorsing the above-noted anti-trafficking measures regarding: mhd@btl.net

prosecution of traffickers; improvement to immigration policy and practices; and minofnatsec@mns.gov.bz
strengthening and enforcement of liquor license laws in Belize.
marketing@btia.org
dean@barrowandwilliams.com
secretary@labour.gov.bz
info@f-cca.com
press@amnesty.org
uaigv@amnesty.org
aiunny@amnesty.org
info@sanpedrobusiness.com
info@victoria-house.com
tmoody@barrowandwilliams.com

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