samerica7

Another form of trafficking of women is managed by the mail order bride industry. Women
are advertised in local papers, magazines, catalogs and the Internet. With over two
hundred mail order bride agencies in the U.S. in 1998, each one serving more than one
thousand men per month paying $200 for each woman25, this industry?s importance
needs to be recognized. The number of agencies that deal with Latin American women has
also proportionally increased with twenty agencies out of a total of 153 in March 1998
compared to twenty-four agencies out of a total of 202 in May 1998.26 This type of service
can often lead to fraud or abuse because many of these women are willing to take risks just
to obtain U.S. residency.
Latin American trafficking has differences and similarities with trafficking in other areas of
the world. For example, some peculiarities can be pointed out among trafficking in Asia,
Europe and Latin America. In Asia, children are sold to trade by families and friends, or
sold as servants. Some of these children do not know that they are being sold and others
are even kidnapped from their homes. Quite often these children are trafficked across
borders or from rural areas to urban areas. In Europe, trafficking is more consistently done
from poor countries to wealthier countries, where they are marketed to organized pedophile
rings and high-tech information services. In Latin America, children usually are already
working in the streets and ultimately choose or are forced to enter the sex trade because
they are economically vulnerable. The children believe they will benefit from protection
from their pimps, but end up being controlled and abused by them.

However, many similarities can be found in the organization and operation of trafficking
networks across borders. Ms. O?Neil?s study points out that Latin American trafficking
appears to operate similarly to Asian trafficking, as they use independent contractors to
move victims across the border using the same routes27 as alien smugglers.28 These
groups are usually controlled by other Latino Americans who only deal with Latin women in
brothels. The underlying abusive aspect of recruiting is also quite similar around the world.
For instance, one of the basic premises of human trafficking, as well as other forms of
organized crime, is that it feeds on and exploits human suffering and poverty caused by
poor economic conditions and/or regional conflicts.

The economic crisis in Eastern Europe and Asia as well as the regional conflicts in Bosnia
and Kosovo have proved to be the target of transnational crime, which has set up many
prostitution rings across the world. Latin America?s increasingly widening gap between
classes has also left many women and children with fewer economic alternatives. The
combination of the regional conflict in Colombia and the strong economic recession
affecting the country has also triggered an outburst in migration and has placed Colombian
women, especially the young and the elderly, in a vulnerable position. This propels them to
escape to neighboring countries or even far away destinations in search of peace and
economic security. In addition, the drug industry in Colombia has had important ripple
effects through Latin America because it has not only perpetuated corruption and political
chaos but also has placed many women and children in precarious conditions by
presenting drug trafficking as the only way out of poverty. In fact, many children in Latin
America find that the only way to survive is to deal drugs. These children are the first ones
to fall prey to the sex industry. Further, prostitutes are usually kept on drugs since owners
of brothels often run drug trafficking rings on a parallel manner. In general, the dynamics
of trafficking appear to be consistent across regions.
One aspect of trafficking that is a particularly sensitive issue to most people is the
trafficking and sexual exploitation of children. Increases in tourism in specific destinations
are linked to an increase in sex tourism and trafficking of children. In general, poor
economic conditions often lead parents into pushing their children into prostitution. Also,
many children have left their homes because they have been previously abused by their
families. A World Congress study reveals that 47% of the girls that are sexually exploited in
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Paraguay were victims of
abuse at home.29 These children end up in the streets where they quickly fall victims to
predators who get them hooked on drugs and prostitution. The same study pointed out that
about 50% to 80% of the girls used drugs.30 In Central America, these children provide
sexual services to tourists, businessmen and even U.S. military personnel.31 Moreover,
street children are often recruited by gangs and drug cartels in many countries where
minors are exempt from penal law and are therefore seen as good assets for narcotic
dealers. These children become addicted to drugs and end up prostituting themselves in
order to support their drug habit.