Senior Reporter
Trinidad and Tobago has retained its Tier 2 ranking in the United States Department of State’s Annual Trafficking in Persons Report, even as the country’s latest national report reveals that 30 victims of human trafficking were identified in 2025, all female and subjected to sexual exploitation.
The findings are contained in the 2025 Annual Report on Trafficking in Persons in Trinidad and Tobago, which was laid in Parliament on Friday.
The report highlights the country’s efforts to combat human trafficking through investigations, victim identification, protection and prosecution, while acknowledging the challenges that remain in tackling the crime.
Tier 2 status means Trinidad and Tobago does not fully meet the minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking under US legislation but is making significant efforts to do so.
The US report recommended that the Government increase investigations and prosecutions of traffickers, including allegedly complicit officials; strengthen the identification and protection of victims in vulnerable communities; and improve access to dedicated shelters.
It also called for better evidence collection, improved prosecution outcomes, reduced judicial backlogs and measures to ensure that trafficking victims are not punished solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of their exploitation.
The Counter-Trafficking Unit received 96 reports of suspected human trafficking in 2025, prompting 13 operations across the country.
The reports came from several sources, including the Immigration Division, police stations, confidential informants, non-governmental organisations, international organisations, embassies and the Unit’s national hotline.
During the operations, 62 people were found in potentially exploitative situations.
The CTU subsequently initiated 62 investigations and screened all 62 individuals for indicators of human trafficking.
Further investigations confirmed 30 victims.
The report explains that identifying a victim requires investigators to establish three elements: an action such as recruiting, transporting or harbouring a person; the use of force, fraud, deception or coercion; and the purpose of exploitation.
In cases involving children, investigators are not required to establish the use of those means.
Venezuelan women and girls most affected
The report identifies women and girls, particularly migrants from Venezuela, as the most vulnerable demographic in Trinidad and Tobago.
Of the 30 confirmed victims in 2025, 29 were Venezuelan nationals, representing 97 per cent of the total. The remaining victim was a Trinidad and Tobago national.
All 30 victims were female and had been subjected to sexual exploitation.
The report found no confirmed cases of forced labour among the victims identified during the reporting period.
The victims ranged in age from 13 to 36, with 13 minors among those identified.
The largest group consisted of 11 girls aged between 15 and 17, while seven victims were between 18 and 20 years old.
Two victims were aged between 14 and under 15, four were between 21 and 23, and the remaining six were spread across age groups from 24 to 36.
Overall, approximately 93 per cent of identified victims were under the age of 30.
The CTU says traffickers are increasingly using online social media platforms and the dark web to recruit victims and advertise sexual services.
The report also highlights the need for greater proactive screening and identification of victims, particularly within vulnerable communities.
14 persons charged in 2025
On the prosecution front, the CTU detained 14 people for questioning in 2025, with all 14 subsequently charged with offences under the Trafficking in Persons Act and other legislation.
The charges included offences under the Sexual Offences Act, the Offences Against the Person Act and the Firearms Act.
Of those charged, 10 were men and four were women.
Eight were citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, while six were Venezuelan nationals.
Their ages ranged from 21 to 57, with the highest numbers falling within the 25-to-29 and 40-to-44 age groups.
The 14 persons charged in 2025 bring the total number of individuals charged with trafficking in persons and related offences since 2013 to 99.
The report also details progress in the courts, including the country’s second conviction in a human trafficking matter, secured in January 2025.
In that case, the accused was found guilty of trafficking three Colombian women for sexual exploitation and sentenced to 16 years, five months and 15 days in prison.
Since 2013, 14 accused persons have been committed to stand trial at the High Court. Eight matters were dismissed, one accused was discharged and three accused persons were killed.
One person pleaded guilty to immigration-related offences, specifically aiding and abetting a victim to enter the country illegally.
The report states that all 14 persons charged in 2025 appeared before Masters of the High Court, where scheduling orders were made to advance their cases.
The remaining matters continue before the Magistrates’ Court.
