• Continue to increase efforts to investigate and prosecute traffickers, including allegedly complicit officials, and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms.
• Increase proactive victim identification, screening, and protection among vulnerable communities, including children in children’s homes and schools; Venezuelan nationals working in Chinese national-owned spas; Cuban regime-affiliated workers; and other migrants, asylum-seekers, and refugees, the majority of whom are Venezuelans.
• Increase the availability of protection services – including dedicated short-term shelters and long-term housing – for all trafficking victims, including male child victims.
• Improve evidence collection; the quality of prosecutions; and cooperation between the Counter Trafficking Unit (CTU), prosecutors, the judiciary, other agencies, and NGOs to increase the number of cases that proceed to trial.
• Ensure safety and access for international organization (IO) and NGO representatives and increase the CTU’s engagement with these organizations.
• Ensure victims are not inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked.
• Continue to reduce judicial backlog.
• Reduce vulnerability to trafficking by implementing the pilot program to allow registered migrant children to attend school and expand that program to include all those registered.
• Improve the quality and consistency of victim care and increase bilingual services.
• Strengthen oversight, regulation, and inspections of private labor recruitment agencies and domestic work locations.
• Investigate and prosecute domestic child trafficking as human trafficking and not as abuse or other crimes.
• Improve supervision of those on trial or out on bail.
• Fully implement and continue to train officials and NGOs on the use of new SOPs for victim care and referral.

The government increased prosecution efforts, but official complicity remained a significant concern.

The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Act of 2011 criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking and prescribed penalties of no less than 15 years’ imprisonment and a fine of no less than 500,000 Trinidad and Tobago dollars (TTD) ($73,910) for offenses involving an adult victim, and no less than 20 years in prison and a fine of no less than 1 million TTD ($147,820) for those involving a child victim. These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with penalties prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape.

The CTU initiated investigations of 114 sex trafficking cases under the TIP Act in 2024, an increase compared with initiating 77 sex trafficking investigations under the TIP Act in 2023. The government continued investigating nine sex trafficking cases initiated in prior reporting periods, compared with continuing to investigate 12 previously initiated sex trafficking cases in 2023. The government initiated prosecutions of nine suspected sex traffickers under the TIP Act, compared with five suspected sex traffickers, including two police officers, prosecuted in 2023. Courts convicted one trafficker, a police officer complicit in sex trafficking; this represented the second conviction under the TIP Act since its enactment. Sentencing of the convicted trafficker remained pending as of the end of the reporting period. Courts acquitted a suspected co-conspirator for insufficient evidence despite testimony from police officers, immigration officers, and the three Colombian victims.

Corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns, inhibiting law enforcement action and some victims’ willingness to participate in trials. The CTU audited two investigations, one of which involved alleged official complicity at a detention center, but concluded that the evidence was insufficient for the investigation to proceed; the other investigation involved the alleged complicity of members of Parliament and is ongoing. The government did not report updates to several investigations involving alleged official complicity initiated in prior years, including an investigation into senior government officials alleged in 2020 to have been involved in trafficking; an investigation into separate allegations made in 2023 against senior government officials; and an investigation of two dozen police officers allegedly involved in trafficking begun in 2021. The government did not report any renewed investigation into allegations Coast Guard officials at a detention facility sexually exploited and beat an adult female Venezuelan sex trafficking victim in April 2023. The government’s initial investigation found no official wrongdoing and it dropped the criminal case in January 2024 for lack of evidence.

The government reported anti-corruption statutes included sexual exploitation and trafficking as specified offenses from which forfeitures, confiscations, or money laundering charges could be generated. The government proposed an amendment to the Police Services Act in January 2021 allowing for additional disciplinary action, including polygraph testing and dismissal, for officers suspected to be involved in trafficking; the proposal was debated in Parliament in February 2024 and remained pending at the end of the reporting period. The CTU and its law enforcement partners, through recommendation to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), could recommend “aggravated sentencing” to push for additional disciplinary action for officers involved in human trafficking.

The CTU, a specialized anti-trafficking police unit within the Ministry of National Security, had the sole mandate for investigating trafficking cases. The CTU included personnel assigned from the Immigration Division, Defense Force, and police. The CTU had a dedicated budget with additional resources from the Ministry of National Security. CTU maintained a strategic partnership with the police Cyber and Social Media Unit to focus on counter-trafficking following an increase in traffickers’ use of these tools. Law enforcement agencies, including the Children’s Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (CATT), referred cases involving children to the police’s CTU and Child Protection Unit for investigation. Evidence collection for trafficking investigations remained a significant weakness; often police did not obtain sufficient evidence from victim-witnesses, including prior to their repatriation. Observers noted witnesses, including of human trafficking, frequently did not appear for trials, likely due to facing intimidation from suspects, and in some cases because they were killed to prevent their testimony. Observers noted authorities did not pursue prosecutions if victim-witnesses would not testify against an alleged trafficker. The CTU reported challenges in obtaining, preserving, and authenticating other evidence, such as cell phone or financial data. The CTU reported it was unable to follow up on all tips, requests, and referrals given its heavy caseload.

The CTU referred trafficking cases to the DPP. The DPP and Judiciary lacked adequate staff and resources for all cases, including trafficking. The government, in partnership with an IO and a foreign software development firm, developed a new case management system for prosecutions, victim assistance, and reporting data. The government made the new system available to the police and initiated its rollout for courts. Courts continued to have a backlog and often took more than 10 years to resolve cases, including trafficking cases. Prosecution delays included the possibility for multiple appeals, and the manipulation of plea bargains and judicial officials; observers also noted numerous motions overwhelmed the judicial process. The government implemented new legislation, enacted in 2023, allowing indictable matters, including human trafficking, to proceed directly to the high court without preliminary inquiry, helping reduce the judicial backlog. The new law also allowed for evidence to be collected electronically and uploaded to a centralized repository, which streamlined the progression of cases to trial. Some legal experts welcomed the new fast track process but expressed concerns about its infrastructure, sustainable funding, prosecutorial staff levels, protection of victim-witnesses, trauma-informed training for judges, and ability to monitor effectiveness. The government continued to work with Colombia on a trafficking MOU and with Venezuela on a security cooperation MOU. The government reported the MOU with the Government of Venezuela would allow the CTU to utilize the Venezuelan embassy to communicate in Spanish with victims and would allow victims to offer their testimony to embassy staff instead of the CTU if they preferred. The government signed an MOU with a foreign government to cooperate on proactively identifying victims and screening travelers from vulnerable communities for trafficking. Authorities collaborated with six foreign governments and an IO on two trafficking investigations and 10 prosecutions. Law enforcement officials participated in regional sessions and trainings, some funded by foreign governments, to share best practices. The government, in collaboration with IOs, provided anti-trafficking training to police, CTU, Coast Guard officials, immigration officials, customs officials, defense officials, social and children’s services officials, and labor inspectors on a range of topics, including SOPs to identify and investigate trafficking crimes.

The government maintained protection efforts.

The CTU was the primary entity responsible for identifying victims. The government identified 45 sex trafficking victims (all Venezuelan, including 28 women and 17 girls), compared with 22 sex trafficking victims in 2023. The government did not report identifying any victims of labor trafficking. The government reported it referred all identified victims to services. NGOs and IOs identified an additional 24 Venezuelan female sex trafficking victims (including nine children and 15 adults). Some victim advocacy organizations claimed the government’s statistics underreported the number of victims in previous reporting periods. With assistance from various ministries and an IO, the CTU developed a rapid screening form and victim referral SOPs for frontline workers, including NGOs. The CTU also reported it finalized and implemented a separate standardized screening form for the intake of trafficking victims mandated for use across all agencies with related responsibilities. The SOPs contained a trauma-informed and victim-centered process for assessing and providing services to adult victims. The government engaged with officials from foreign embassies to encourage foreign nationals to report trafficking to the CTU. An IO reported the CTU received personnel from the Victim and Witness Support Unit to guide the staff’s engagement with newly identified victims. The CTU partnered with NGOs to deliver services to victims upon identification and consistently consulted with IOs to identify emerging trends. The CTU, the Special Victims Unit of the police, the Immigration Division, and the CATT maintained a service delivery protocol outlining steps for child victim care, including screening for trafficking indicators, medical treatment, other interventions, reunification with families, transition into adulthood, and coverage of the court where no parent is available or out of the jurisdiction. In 2023, the Cabinet approved the National Inter-Agency Protocol for Child Abuse Prevention and Management, which described the role and responsibilities for those involved in protection of children, including the identification and protection of child trafficking victims. The Ministry of Social Development and Family Services continued to use the Manual on Victims of Trafficking for Social Service Providers, which contained guidelines for agencies involved in victim protection. Observers noted officials regularly used all the above SOPs and instructions. The SOPs required the government to screen migrants, including those scheduled for deportation, for trafficking indicators and the government reported this was consistently done; however, NGOs alleged some trafficking victims were still arrested and deported without proper screening and observers noted the responsibility for implementation lay with the police unit making the arrest.

Authorities reported providing shelter and other assistance to 42 out of 45 sex trafficking victims they identified, compared with providing assistance to 34 victims in 2023. Although the CTU collaborated effectively with IOs, it did not always do so with NGOs; NGO leaders reported the CTU did not act upon all NGO referrals or conduct adequate screening of persons referred by NGOs to the CTU. Under the NAP, the government spent 791,410 TTD ($116,973) on victim assistance in 2024 compared with 1.5 million TTD ($222,260) in 2023. The Ministry of Health assisted foreign trafficking victims and funded assistance from its annual budget. The Children’s Authority funded advocates for child victims from its general budget. The government reported adult victims were given reintegration assistance, transportation, secure placement, mental health and psycho-social support, monitoring, access to communicate with and transportation to see family members, educational and computer training, medical care, entrepreneurial training, and legal services including court protection. The government began coordinating between ministries, agencies, and NGOs to deliver technical and vocational training, including computer classes, foreign language courses, cooking classes, and cosmetology courses to victims. Some observers reported the government did not consistently offer entrepreneurial training, religious fellowship, or legal services except for children, and that there were often delays in delivering phones to victims to contact family members. The government allowed adult victims to pursue other employment, move about the country freely if staying outside a shelter, and, in some instances, to return to their home country.

The government reported it continued to fund five specialized shelters for adults and three shelters housing other populations including adult victims of trafficking. However, an IO reported only two of the five specialized shelters were operational during the reporting period; the remaining three were pending leasing and operationalization approvals. The government was also refurbishing and outfitting an additional transitional shelter for trafficking victims to receive services for three to six months with support from a foreign donor and an IO that provided furniture, appliances, computer equipment, and training workshops; the government was constructing a security fence at the end of the reporting period. The government reported initiating efforts to offer trainings on shelter management based on lessons learned from international assistance. However, observers noted the government still relied on NGOs and IOs to provide most shelter and psycho-social care for adult victims and noted authorities did not provide adult victims the same level of care, access, and protection as child victims. The government allowed victims to choose whether to stay in the state-provided accommodation or their own living arrangements. Victims did not usually have a choice of which shelter to use. If they requested specific accommodations, they were assigned based on availability. The government reported victims could leave the premises unchaperoned and work outside of shelters.

Child victims received a psychiatric evaluation, and a physical medical exam in the presence of a police officer, for the purpose of evidence collection for the criminal case; the child also was interviewed in the presence of a police officer, with interpreter as required, to gather a statement for the criminal case and use in the trial. CATT provided child victims online vocational training, online secondary education in Spanish as appropriate, and private psychiatric care; CATT also identified for the first time a Spanish-speaking psychiatric provider in the previous reporting period, removing the need for a translator. Child victims could leave the shelters with staff accompaniment; CATT conducted psychosocial investigations to determine child victims’ needs and suitability for external activities. The government continued to place male child victims in Children’s Homes as space was available; observers noted these homes could also house children who were criminal offenders. The government also identified two residential shelters for children younger than 18 years on the island of Tobago to accommodate male and female child trafficking victims. Placement of child victims was kept confidential to avoid detection by perpetrators. The Children’s Court directed the CATT to provide protection, placement, services, and repatriation for child victims. Authorities did not prosecute any individuals after multiple reports of abuse of children in children’s homes, including sex trafficking, sexual abuse, rape, and severe physical and psychological abuse resulting in children’s deaths, nor did Parliament approve recommendations for greater oversight of these institutions.

The anti-trafficking law provided for restitution in trafficking cases resulting in convictions, but no restitution was ordered during the reporting period. The government maintained a victim compensation fund for victims of all crimes following convictions but reported no trafficking victims applied to use this fund. Victims could seek additional compensation from the government through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board prior to conviction of a trafficker; victims’ identities would be kept anonymous. The government reported victims were allowed to contact lawyers of their choice, NGOs, IOs, their own foreign embassies, psychologists, social workers, and families abroad; victims could also speak to others besides law enforcement to give statements, but in practice this did not often happen due to the need to ensure evidence collected could be used in trials. Foreign adult victims could remain in the country for the duration of court proceedings and work legally; they could apply for permanent residency after the completion of court proceedings, but the government did not report any did so. The government reported it provided all victim-witnesses with protection based on threat assessments and court appearances. Trials were closed to the press and public and screens were used to hide victims’ identities during testimony; however, the government maintained suspects had the right to know the identity of their accusers. Courts allowed victims to testify virtually via written statements and video recordings, and observers noted greater recent acceptance of this among judicial authorities, which could strengthen cases involving repatriated victim-witnesses. Observers noted the removal of the preliminary inquiry stage through a legislative amendment that streamlined the investigation process for trafficking cases. Observers also noted the audio/visual equipment in the CTU’s new space – which was pending installation at the end of the reporting period – would reduce the burden on victims to testify multiple times. Child victims were required to have a Victim and Support Officer present during any interaction with law enforcement officials and guidelines also included measures to ensure safety.

Foreign victims sometimes could not return to their countries of origin because they did not possess valid identification or travel documents; in many cases traffickers held their original documents. The government offered some immigration relief for potential victims. The government issued minister’s permits granting legal status and the ability to work to 20 victims; those with minister’s permits also could participate in educational and vocational opportunities. The CTU repatriated three sex trafficking victims, compared with repatriating 13 victims in 2023. The government assisted in the repatriation of an additional 20 sex trafficking victims, although efforts were mainly led by an IO. In previous reporting periods, many foreign victims refused to cooperate with prosecutions after repatriation. NGOs asserted the government may have violated individuals’ due process during repatriation, and the Venezuelan embassy’s increased involvement in the repatriation process put individuals at risk if they had a legitimate fear of persecution.

The government maintained efforts to prevent trafficking.

The National Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons, which included 10 agencies and six NGOs, coordinated national efforts and met regularly. The task force continued to lead implementation of the 2021-2025 NAP, with a budget of 8.7 million TTD ($1.3 million). Observers reported interagency cooperation and accountability for CTU’s implementation of the NAP needed strengthening. The government sought input of survivors and civil society in its policies. The government worked with an advisor funded by a foreign government and embedded in the Ministry of National Security to strengthen strategic and legal anti-trafficking frameworks. The CTU prepared quarterly and annual reports, but these were not made available to the public. The government provided 442,997 TTD ($65,474) for prevention efforts in 2024, compared with spending 980,000 TTD ($144,842) on public awareness and engagement efforts in 2023. The CTU worked on establishing bilateral agreements with two foreign governments to research the prevalence of trafficking and compile findings in shared databases.

The CTU operated a 24/7 trafficking hotline with 10 English and Spanish-speaking CTU officers answering duty phones during regular business hours, and vetted security guards who forwarded calls to CTU officers at night. The CTU reported the hotline received 15 calls, which led to identification of one victim referred to care; compared with receiving an unknown number of calls and identifying and referring three victims to care in 2023. The government provided services to two victims an NGO hotline identified. The government’s hotline had access to Spanish-English translation available through a third party but did not yet have full-time translators. The police had a Spanish-language version of its mobile phone application to report crimes. The CTU increased sensitization and public awareness on radio; prime time television; in schools; through English and Spanish-language newspapers; and through a short film screening, posters, advertisements, and social media posts. Brochures and pamphlets on trafficking in persons were available for free in English and Spanish from the CTU and Labor Inspectorate Unit. However, observers previously noted most domestic trafficking cases involving children are persistently characterized by the media, in official reports, and by government officials as “abuse” rather than trafficking.

The Employment Exchange Act prohibited recruitment fees. Labor recruiters required a license to operate; the licensing officer could accept as equivalent a license issued by the competent authority of a foreign country. The government has never appointed a licensing officer, and the Ministry of Labor did not report how many recruiters had been licensed under the act. The CTU and Ministry of Labor maintained a MOU that created a framework for cooperation including data sharing, training, and case referrals between the units to address incidents of forced labor. Forced labor cases also could be referred to the labor inspectorate for investigation, but the government did not report referring any cases. The law did not differentiate between citizens and foreign employees. The law covered domestic workers; however, observers previously noted the oversight and regulation of domestic workers’ employment was weak. The government reported migrants could easily change jobs within the same employment sector; an employer had to apply to the Ministry of Labor to change to another employment sector. The Ministry of Labor submitted a draft labor migration policy, which included measures to mitigate trafficking, to the Cabinet for approval. The government maintained an agreement with the Government of Canada for the supply of seasonal workers; as part of the MOU, a Labor Liaison Branch in Canada worked to ensure the recruitment process for migrant workers was transparent, safe, and included measures to prevent trafficking vulnerabilities of persons seeking work in Canada. Observers noted while the Ministry of Labor remained willing to intervene on behalf of trafficking victims and act against unscrupulous employers engaging in trafficking, the lack of legal standing of the country’s refugee and migrant population created a problematic array of informal markets for labor; housing; and health, financial, and social services; as well as illicit smuggling over which the government had little to no visibility or control. The government reported detained migrants, or any individual or organization on their behalf, could post a security bond equal to the cost of deportation, but observers reported abuse, extortion, and exploitation in the application of this process and noted it increased victims’ dependency on traffickers. In 2023, the government successfully implemented a pilot program for registered migrant children from Venezuela – who are vulnerable to trafficking – to attend public schools; however, the government did not implement a similar program for vulnerable registered migrant children of other nationalities in 2024. The government made efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts and child commercial sexual exploitation, including through awareness campaigns for the public. CTU officials attended seminars and workshops raising awareness on child sexual abuse material. The government reported its laws allowed for the prosecution of its citizens involved in extraterritorial commercial sexual exploitation and abuse abroad and had draft legislation, intended to strengthen the registration and reporting of sexual offenders, which remained pending at the end of the reporting period.

Trafficking affects all communities. This section summarizes government and civil society reporting on the nature and scope of trafficking over the past five years. Human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Trinidad and Tobago, and traffickers exploit victims from Trinidad and Tobago abroad. The ongoing humanitarian crisis in neighboring Venezuela and the economic effects of the pandemic contributed to a large influx of refugees and migrants at high risk for trafficking. The government and a November 2022 study by an IO both described sex trafficking as the most prevalent form of trafficking in the country. Sex trafficking victims are women and girls primarily from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Venezuela; however, the government previously reported an increase in male Venezuelan labor trafficking victims and domestic child sex trafficking victims. Unaccompanied or separated Venezuelan children are at increased risk for sex trafficking. Many victims land in the southern peninsula of Trinidad and contract taxi vans to ferry them inland to holding locations and trafficking establishments such as bars, hotels, parlors, and clubs. Other victims enter the country via Trinidad’s international airport.

Transnational criminal organizations are increasingly involved in trafficking. Regional experts note transnational criminal organizations operating in Trinidad use the island as a transit point for exploiting trafficking victims throughout the Caribbean. Although the island of Trinidad remains the primary hub for most sexual exploitation in the Trinidad and Tobago, traffickers move some victims to the island of Tobago during the tourist season. Some Trinbagonian fishermen engage in migrant smuggling, which serves as traffickers’ primary method of transportation of victims from Venezuela. Venezuelan stakeholders note migrant smugglers charge $300 to $500 for transportation. The Minister of National Security stated in May 2022 that 132 known disembarkation points existed along the country’s coasts. An IO reported more than 21,000 foreigners – 86 percent Venezuelan and 6 percent Cuban – were registered with the IO for asylum or refugee status during 2021. Traffickers also exploit individuals from China, India, Kenya, Nepal, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Advocates reported persons who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual are at risk for sex trafficking. Migrants from the Caribbean region and from Asia, particularly those lacking legal status, are at risk for forced labor in domestic service and the retail sector. There were 116 Cuban regime-affiliated medical professionals in Trinidad and Tobago in 2024. In 2025, the government extended the technical cooperation agreement with the Cuban regime for five years. The Cuban regime may have forced Cuban regime-affiliated professionals in Trinidad and Tobago to work.

Civil society and children’s groups reported in 2023 that exploitation in sex trafficking of Trinbagonians in schools and children’s homes went largely unreported and labor trafficking increased in the informal work sector. A NGOs report Trinidad and Tobago is a destination for extraterritorial commercial child sexual exploitation and abuse, with most perpetrators traveling from the United States, Canada, China, and Western Europe. Traffickers offer employment in brothels and clubs, via social media, and through advertisements in Venezuelan newspapers and recruitment by other victims. The government and NGOs report some victims are forced to recruit other victims. The government and a November 2022 media report on a study by an IO found social media was the main method traffickers used to recruit victims. After the country closed its borders in March 2020 because of the pandemic, recruitment shifted to online platforms, trafficking moved from brothels, spas, salons, and bars to private, clandestine locations; after the government lifted pandemic restrictions in April 2022, traffickers returned to exploitation in brothels, hotels, spas, salons, and bars, but more recently the crime is trending towards private homes. Some trafficking networks operate through businesses acting as a cover for trafficking operations. Officials reported some victims, upon their arrival in the country, were moved to housing facilities registered as spas typically run by Chinese nationals, where sexual services were advertised online. Trinbagonian organized crime groups recruited on and off duty police officers to provide security at the venues and transport the victims. Some victims who were able to escape reported Venezuelan traffickers threatened their family members in Venezuela to coerce them into returning to Trinidad and Tobago. An IO found increased risks for those working in the construction sector in 2023. The government reported in 2023 that traffickers have adapted to using cash apps and online payments to facilitate their operations and to avoid traceable transactions. Traffickers often offer to either pay for or share the cost of transit with the victims, which is later included as part of debt bondage imposed upon them. Victims stated being told upon arrival in the country that they had been “purchased” and owed a debt of up to 20,000 TTD ($2,955). One victim previously reported traffickers also use drugs and alcohol to increase compliance and dependency of victims.

Some NGOs continue to allege enforcement and security officials are complicit in sex and labor trafficking, including officials who facilitate the transportation of women and girls from Venezuela to the country; immigration and customs officers who ensure women and girls arrive and receive entry; and members of the police who accept bribes to facilitate transport to houses across the country and work with brothel owners to protect their establishments from law enforcement actions, particularly in the southern police districts where most Venezuelan refugees, migrants, and displaced persons attempt to enter the country. Officials, oversight bodies, and outside observers in civil society and media alleged some law enforcement and security officials were complicit with criminal groups. Some NGOs and media continued to report immigration and defense officials allegedly exploited detained Venezuelans in sex trafficking at an immigration detention facility. Observers reported police officers may have been complicit in the exploitation of migrants at coastal ports of entry.