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Arrests Made in Human Trafficking

Agentes de Migración hacen arrestos en Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

A total of 25 people were arrested in Central America as the result of a joint operation that dismantled a network of human traffickers.

The ring smuggled people to the United States and Canada.

The operations were carried out in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Panama.

Organized Crime Prosecutor Rafael Baloyes explained that, in Panama the network maintained operations in an apartment of the LaCosta Tower building in Costa del Este, where the ringleaders of the criminal network were arrested.

Baloyes explained that there were also raids in the La Cigarra hostel in Santa Ana, and in Parque Lefevre, where five other people were arrested.

Migrants remained in the hostel, without being able to leave, until they were taken to the Albrook terminal to be moved to Chiriqui and then to Costa Rica.

At the same time it was reported that seven other people are under investigation to clarify their relationship with the criminal network.

The traffickers were apparently paid $1,500 to help people cross through Panama.

Those arrested included two Colombians who were identified as the ringleaders of the network. The migrants mostly came from North Africa.

http://www.prensa.com/in_english/Desarman-red-trafico-personas_21_4517758180.html

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New experience recently while driving to Boquete from Panama City. We were stopped and asked several questions by Immigration personnel. Once in Penonome, shortly after that again at the exit off Pan American Hiway that goes south into Azuero Peninsula, another time as we were entering Chiriqui Providence. Police officers in the background, but definitely Immigration people asking the questions and reviewing our documents. Specifically wanted to see our passports and then cedulas.

No problems for us, but these guys were serious.

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9 minutes ago, Pat said:

Maybe shifty people??

This reply was relocated to this topic. It apparently was inadvertently posted in the wrong topic.

P.S., we have it on good authority that Marcelyn and Bud really are shifty people. (Need to be careful not to leave out a critical letter here). :)

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Another sexual trafficking ring busted

Posted on July 29, 2016 in Panama

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A DAWN raid in Panama has broken up another human trafficking rink   and freed  a group of victims of  sexual exploitation as part of a stepped up campaign against the human trade..

The operation began early  Friday July 29  at PH Sofia and The Splendor tower on Calle 78 and the Splendor tower, in the  Carrasquilla, district of San Francisco.

Three people were arrested,  two Colombians and a Venezuelan and  seven victims two Venezuelan, two Colombian, two Panamanians and a Nicaraguan were rescued, reports the Public Ministry.

Organized crime prosecutor Esperanza Montenegro said the operation was positive, since it was possible to dismantle a network that captured young  people to exploit them sexually and get profit from it. She said the investigation would continue and appealed to the population to be sensitized to the issue of trafficking, as it is a disease that severely affects society.

Panama Authorities  have dismantled several trafficking networks in recent months. On July 20 a ring  operating in an apartment tower with 52 victims  in El Cangrejo, was dismantled. A similar action was held in Costa del Este in June.

Penalties under the Criminal Code of for the crimes of trafficking for sexual exploitation call for jail terms  of 20 -30 years

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/another-sexual-trafficking-ring-busted

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2 hours ago, MarieElaine said:

Would you call this prostitution or trafficking?  Are these women cooperating or are they prisoners?

I don't think there is any doubt this is trafficking, based on this statement, "... captured young  people to exploit them sexually and get profit from it. "

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Well.  Some facts.  Prostitution, per se, is not "illegal" in Panama.  Some people call it a "necessary evil".  

But the fact in those last cases on the news is not because of prostitution.   It has to do with human trafficking.   Some of those foreign women are caught with the promise of a highly remunerated "job" in Panama.  They believe in the promise of good jobs to find themselves in a very traumatic experience of prostitution.  

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Panama human trafficking magnet

Posted on August 7, 2016 in Panama

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PANAMA’S capital   city has become  “a magnet”  for criminal networks involved in human trafficking for sexual exploitation and labor which has fired a major  crackdown by specialized judicial units. 

The increased trafficking  activity has been  fueled by the availability of tourist facilities a thriving economy and the country’s location  as a  transit center   special prosecutor against Organized crime, Rafael Baloyes told La Prensa.
These factors are used by    criminal networks that  lure victims and install their illegal activities here.

With the increase in  prosecutions of the offense this year Public Ministry officials, in joint operations with the police have dismantled four criminal networks engaged in human trafficking, and have rescued 71 victims men and women, most of whom were sexually exploited.

In 2015, 50 victims were rescued.A year earlier, in 2014, authorities investigated 11 cases,  four sex and seven  labor trafficking.

Five people were sentenced for the crime in 2014 and three in 2013.

A 2015  US State  Department of State report,  Trafficking in Persons, says, “the Government of Panama does not fully comply with the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. ”

T his year, four international networks engaged in trafficking for sexual exploitation and human trafficking have been dismantled and and another 10 investigations into possible groups involved in the crimecountry are underway.

Prosecutor Baloyes, said that in three raids conducted last month in the P.H. Ever Island Bella Vista,  andthe Splendor and  Sophia  in Carrasquilla three gangs  with international connections dedicated to trafficking for sexual exploitation were dismantled and the perpetrators are behind bars awaiting trial.

In, in an operation conducted in Costa Tower in Costa del Este, authorities captured the ringleaders of a network dedicated to human trafficking, mainly migrant African and Asian nationals  traveling to the United States.

Most sexually exploited victims who are  between 20 and 35 years of age  come from Colombia, Venezuela and El Salvador.

Baloyes said that the networks involved  were well structured. According to preliminary investigations, sexually exploited victims are contacted by recruiters who promise them job opportunities,like  domestic work and opportunities to study When they victims reach Panama,  their passports are taken away and they are  forced them prostitution.

SOCIAL NETWORKS

The prosecutor   said that organizations place ads on social networks and in the media.
When the victim decides to travel, the recruiter prepares everything and the day of shipment gives money to reach their  destination.
Upon arrival, they get a room and  receive care and food for several days.
Later their passports are  taken and they  are told they must pay their passage money by prostituting  themselves. They are  promised a percentage of the profits.
Attorney general, Kenya Porcell said that the leaders of the criminal networks are foreigners who appeared to handle legitimate business, but they were unmasked through intelligence operations and community support , which gave indications of irregular activities.
Porcell revealed that  research is underway on a possible further 10 networks dedicated to  trafficking for sexual and labor exploitation.
She  appealed to the cooperation of citizens,  to provide information, as anonymous reporting is  a key to discovering  and punishing  the criminals.

SEX TOURISM

Porcell warned that Panama will not tolerate sex tourism  and stressed that the surveillance of these activities has been strengthened . The investigation of these crimes requires a highly skilled staff and advanced technology to establish linking the suspects to the crime, she said.

Prosecutor Baloyes said  that the victims have received psychological care and have been provided with temporary shelter, where they receive food and humanitarian assistance.
They  remain in the shelter until they decide if they wish to return to their home country  or apply to  remain in Panama.
A report prepared in 2015 by the US State  Department said that the Panamanian protection efforts remained inadequate and most victims identified did not receive services.
The report notes that the Government did not allocate resources to assist trafficking victims .
The report recommends Panama significantly increase the money for specialized services to victims, including the implementation of a fund dedicated to victim assistance and provide resources to civil society organizations to offer services.
In addition, the State Department has asked the Panamanian government to intensify efforts of law enforcement in proactive investigation and prosecution of crimes,  involving Panamanian victims and  any public servant who is presumed to be complicit in such crimes.

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/panama-human-trafficking-magnet

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Cross border protest against people-trafficking

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Cross border protest against people-trafficking

PANAMANIANS and Costa Ricans   joined together on  the border between the two countries on  Saturday, July  29   to raise awareness  of the  scourge of  people trafficking.

The demonstration was sparked by the arrest of a trafficker from the Dominion Republic on Friday, and the earlier discovery of two decapitated  bodies  in   the border community of Paso Canoas.

Members of  civil groups  and students from  both countries participated in the  Binational Walk with the support of the International Organization for Migration.

Paso Canoas is the first customs post for thousands of migrants seeking to travel to the United States through Central America, a growing  phenomenon in recent years.

The majority of irregular migrants cross from Panama to Costa Rica by routes, outside the control of the authorities.

The  Dominican  accused of trafficking three Ecuadorian migrants who allegedly paid him to take them to North America.

A judge ordered  a six-month pre-trial detention to the unidentified suspect and  the victims were placed under the orders of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

In the last three years, 150 people have been rescued from trafficking in Panama and more than 14 criminal networks have been dismantled,says Rodrigo García secretary of the National Commission Against People Trafficking .

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/cross-border-protest-people-trafficking

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Human trafficker exchanges Panama Sunshine by Park for jail cell

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The police raid that exposed human trafficking

A CONVICTION for human trafficking has moved a Colombian resident from her “Sunshine By The Park” business in  Panama City, to the more shaded interior of a women’s prison.

On Friday, August  4,   Jennifer Tatiana Padilla López, a citizen of Colombian nationality, was sentenced to 10 years behind bars for  the crime of Trafficking in Persons.

At a  court hearing, the Organized Crime Prosecution produced a string of witnesses indicating that women living  in the Sunshine By The Park building were engaged in prostitution.

According to the prosecution, López financed the air fare of young people who traveled from the Colombian Republic to Panama City, with the sole objective of prostitution,

Lodging was offered in the Sunshine By The Park building in exchange for $150 dollars a week, in addition to the total payment of airfare.

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/human-trafficker-exchanges-panama-sunshine-park-jail-cell

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Panama sexual crimes hit 2,795 in six months

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REPORTED sexual crimes in Panama in the first six months  of the year totaled 2,795  including 1,189 rapes according to the Public Prosecutor’s Statistics Center (MP).

During  that time 811 cases crimes against freedom and sexual integrity were recorded in the province of Panama, 556 in Chiriquí and 366 in West Panama

According to the data kept by the MP, there were recorded 1,189 rapes, consensual offences 722, libidinous acts 264 and child pornography, 220, among other cases.

Yara Massiel Vega, circuit prosecutor and head of the Sexual Offenses Unit of the Metropolitan Public Prosecutor’s Office of the MP, told El Siglo that the greatest number of crimes occur to the east of the capital city, in  Pacora and Chepo.

Nine people have been sentenced and four cases are before the courts.

“Faced with this, families should provide care, help and reinforce values so that children are not victims and must report these cases to the Public Ministry said the prosecutor.

He added  that the aggressors seek to have control and influence the victims to achieve their aims.

Relatives involved
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Sociologist Alexander Alleyne said that many victims are minors and crimes are committed by relatives and in many cases go unreported.

He said that parents should talk to their children, meet their friends and be alert to the use of social networks. “The perpetrators  are people in or near the family circle.”

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/panama-sexual-crimes-hit-2795-six-months

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Friday, 04 August 2017 15:25

Panama Dismantles 14 Human Trafficking Networks

Panama.- The dismantling of 14 organizations dedicated to human trafficking this year has allowed to rescue about 150 victims in the country, the Ministry of Security (MINSEG) of Panama informed.

Sexual and labor exploitation, and human organ trafficking, are the most common crimes found in those operations, although the former is the majority, Rodrigo Garcia, general secretary of the National Commission against Human Trafficking at MINSEG, told TVN channel.

"The sexually exploited women are usually humble, deceived in the search for a better economic situation and it turns out they are exploited them and live far from their families," he said.

A group of Nicaraguan citizens were sentenced on June 29 to 15 years in prison for labor exploitation, he said, coinciding with previous allegations of such a crime involving companies that employ illegal migrants and denounce them for deportation without paying them fees.

Frequent inspections carried out by the Ministry of Labor and Workforce Development (MITRADEL) detected several violations in hiring foreign labor force, mostly people without authorized immigration status, and financial measures were applied to those financial institutions.

The parliament approved this week a new law "against foreign workforce exploiters," which penalizes up to $10,000 USD those employers who violate what is established in hiring labor force, and even the cancellation of the operation permit to repeating offenders. (PL)

 

http://www.periodico26.cu/index.php/en/world-news/item/4569-panama-dismantles-14-human-trafficking-networks

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Arrests made in human trafficking

Juan Manuel Díaz 29 jun 2016 - 08:18h

JUDICIAL AFFAIRS

25 people were arrested across the region, including seven in Panama.

A total of 25 people were arrested in Central America as the result of a joint operation that dismantled a network of human traffickers.

The ring smuggled people to the United States and Canada.

The operations were carried out in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Panama.

Organized Crime Prosecutor Rafael Baloyes explained that, in Panama the network maintained operations in an apartment of the Lacosta Tower building in Costa del Este, where the ringleaders of the criminal network were arrested.

Baloyes explained that there were also raids in the La Cigarra hostel in Santa Ana, and in Parque Lefevre, where five other people were arrested.

Migrants remained in the hostel, without being able to leave, until they were taken to the Albrook terminal to be moved to Chiriqui and then to Costa Rica.

At the same time it was reported that seven other people are under investigation to clarify their relationship with the criminal network.

The traffickers were apparently paid $1,500 to help people cross through Panama.

Those arrested included two Colombians who were identified as the ringleaders of the network. The migrants mostly came from North Africa.

http://www.prensa.com/in_english/Desarman-red-trafico-personas_21_4517758180.html

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On 2016-07-30 at 11:29 AM, MarieElaine said:

Would you call this prostitution or trafficking?  Are these women cooperating or are they prisoners?

Well, it says in one of the articles that the passports of these people are taken from them when they arrive, so, sounds to me like they are prisoners, no?

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31-year old awaits sentence for sex with minor

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A 31-YEAR-OLD  found guilty of having sex with a  13-year-old girl during the birthday party of her mother will be sentenced on September 14.

The incident took place at the mother’s home on September 11, 2016, at around 9:30 p.m.

The August 31 ruling of the court after a two-day trial was unanimous The sentence will be handed down at the headquarters of the Accusatory Penal System in Plaza Ágora.

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/31-year-old-awaits-sentence-sex-minor

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Sexual exploitation victims rescued

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SIX VENEZUELAN victims of sexual exploitation  were rescued  in Betanie during a raid by National Police and the Public Ministry  on Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Five people suspected of human trafficking, three Chinese and two Venezuelan were arrested during the operation at   the residence Las Mercedes, where they found money, condoms, various cell phones and documents.

The operation was carried out by the National Directorate of Police Intelligence and the Office of the Special Prosecutor against Organized Crime.

The director general of the PN, Omar Pinzón, urged the population to continue denouncing criminal offenses by calling line 104 or through the Twitter account otegeryservir.

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/six-sexual-exploitation-victims-rescued

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5 human trafficking suspects detained

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Victims leave the court

FIVE SUSPECTS allegedly involved in a  people trafficking network have been detained on the order of a judge at a hearing on Wednesday, October 11, after an operation the previous day in Bethania.

The judge ordered the provisional arrest of two Venezuelans and three Chinese for allegedly being involved in the exploitation for sexual intercourse of several women.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor against Organized Crime was responsible for dismantling  the supposed network, reports La Prensa

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/5-human-trafficking-suspects-detained

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Human trafficking hearing delayed

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A HEARING  into human trafficking in Panama by five suspects  – three Chinese and two Venezuelans – allegedly involved in a network, was suspended on Monday, October 16.

The suspension in the accusatory criminal system (SPA), in Plaza Ágora, was because the Gesell cameras used to protect the identity of witnesses were not available. Seven Venezuelan women  allegedly trapped into prostitution are scheduled to give evidence they can declare without being seen.
The hearing was rescheduled for Tuesday, October 17. The victims have agreed to be repatriated to Venezuela.

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/human-trafficking-hearing-delayed

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Panama Sexual Abuse Cases Climbing

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SEXUAL  abuse is on the rise in Panama with 4,817 reported cases in the first nine months of 2017, an increase of 225  over the whole of 2016  and most of those affected are minors according to a Public Ministry (MP). report.

Although the percentage of victims of these crimes in 2017 is not available, MP data reveals that in 2015, of the 4, 812 registered cases, 88% involved minors.

Concern over the increase in cases led to the National Assembly initiating the discussion of Bill 584, which seeks to reform articles of the Criminal Code, to increase penalties for sexual abuse of minors and eliminate the option of community work as a sanction for these crimes,

Sex crimes prosecutor, Anilú Batista,  told La Prensa that in most cases of sexual abuse the victims are minors, and girls are most affected. She believes that a comprehensive reform of the existing laws is required, and not only of penalty increases.

Roderick Chaverri, of the Network for the Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents, pointed said  that the penalties for child abuse are “very low” and warned that the increase in sexual crimes is not just  225 cases, since ” many assaults  are not reported …” He added that neither is there a study to show how many of the early teen pregnancies are the product of relationships with adults.

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/panama-sexual-abuse-cases-climbing

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Sex- trafficking  organization busted

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Panama authorities have rescued 18 women and dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to people trafficking for sexual purposes.in Darién province.

The bust was announced by Attorney General, Kenia Porcell at a Saturday, March 10 press conference in Metetí, Darién.

The raid was carried out on the night of Friday, March 9.

According to the Public Ministry  among the rescued women, there were a Venezuelan, Colombian and two Panamanians

The operation was carried out at different points of the province of Darién.

Six suspected traffickers were apprehended.

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/sex-trafficking-organization-busted

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