Country Report: Guatemala

A Victim's Story

"Sitting on the witness stand in federal court, the 20-year-old Guatemalan woman wouldn't look at the man accused of kidnapping her from her mountain village and taking her to the farm fields last fall to work in indentured servitude."

Maria* appeared in a Ft. Myers, FL court in October 2000, bringing Jose Tecum under charges for breaking into her home, raping her, then forcing her to come to the U.S. to work on the fields and give her pay check to Tecum. This man belonged to a network of "coyotes," individuals who smuggle illegal aliens into the US usually coercing the victims into slavery. Tecum is among the wealthier individuals in the city of Patachaj, Guatemala. After various failed attempts to threaten Maria into marriage, Tecum stormed into her home, took her, and smuggled her into Florida where he had a home, a wife, and three children. Upon their arrival, she was told that she owed Tecum $1,000 for travel costs. Tecum repeatedly raped Maria while his wife was away. During the day, Maria was forced to work off her debt on the fields. During a police visit to the home in November 1999, the deputies learned of Maria's situation, and Tecum was brought to court.

Country Background

Guatemala, located in Central America, is a democratic republic with a population of 13 million. The economy depends on foreign aid, coffee, sugar, bananas exports, tourism, and apparel manufacturing. Both land and income distribution are highly skewed, and most of the population is considered to be living in poverty, which is especially evident within the large indigenous sector. Unemployment is a serious problem. Combined unemployment and underemployment is 46 percent in Guatemala.

Causes of Slavery

Human rights abuses committed by the government have been, and continue to be, a serious issue. According to the U.S. Department of State, the government performs "social cleansing," in which certain persons that are considered "undesirable" (street children, homosexuals, for example) are tortured and/or murdered. Arbitrary arrests are common. Women, children, and the indigenous population suffer from discrimination and are not protected from human rights violations due in part to an inefficient judicial system. Several NGOs and human rights organizations operating in Guatemala have received death threats or have been intimidated by anonymous persons. There have been reports that criminals, usually comprising of private security guards and military personnel, have been exploiting children for the purposes of prostitution and forced to engage in illegal activities such as drug rings. Women and children are vulnerable to offers made by "coyotes," individuals staked at the country borders waiting to take advantage of victims' economic desperation by luring them into job promises under false pretenses.

The Process of Enslavement

There have been instances where wealthy men living in Guatemala use their money and power in the lucrative human trafficking network. The men approach poor farmers or unemployed women with promises of a better life in the United States. Upon their arrival into the free world, however, these individuals find themselves as victims of forced labor. In addition, child labor is a problem. Children are often brought in from neighboring countries, such as El Salvador, and are victims of both forced labor and sexual exploitation.

Response on the Ground

Programs to protect victims of forced labor and sexual exploitation either lack enforcement or are nonexistent. This is due to illegal armed groups that have been threatening individuals associated with human rights groups, as well as instances of injuring or killing members of these organizations. Hence, the most effective human rights organizations operating in Guatemala are not local, but rather regional, such as Casa Alianza, and international, such as the Washington Office on Latin America, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International.

*Name has been changed to protect the victim's identity.

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