[3] Primary destinations for trafficking and illegal immigration are the United States, Spain, Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Canada.
One theory is that due to the upheaval and political turmoil that occurred after the Spanish withdrew, crimes such as forced servitude and sexual exploitation increased without being checked.
[7] The cultivation of conditions that allowed for human trafficking in Latin America can be dated back to the arrival of the first conquistadors in the 16th century.
[8] According to State Department officials, it is estimated that tens of thousands of Latin American women are trafficked each year, typically internationally.
The Mexican-Guatemalan border is especially popular due to undocumented migrants en route to the United States are often pushed into prostitution.
These numbers are estimated to be roughly 3.1 percent of the regions population, though it does not count the victims of human trafficking who are sent out internationally.
This is a common practice or occurrence in place like Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay where people are often forced to work on cattle ranches, lumber mills, cole mines and plantations where soy beans, cotton and corn are produced.
Other times, the workers aren't brought to the work site, but to a drop off point, where they sometimes wait for days or weeks for employers to come pick them up.
Typically, they live in poverty and with discrimination and a low literacy rate working against them, they have no real way to protest against the laborers effectively.
[10] It is estimated that annually, about 1.5 million seasonal farm workers who are mostly from Latin America and the Caribbean Islands harvest produce in the United States.
Some other factors that make a child vulnerable to becoming a victim of trafficking are poverty, infrequent attendance of school, involvement in criminal activity, drug or alcohol addiction, or physical or sexual abuse.
Children are typically trafficked for the uses of illegal adoptions, child soldiers, sex slavey, or to work for an organized crime group.
According to the Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition, organized crime groups from Russia, Japan, Mexico, Central America, Ukraine and multiple other countries have been caught attempting to traffic people across the U.S.-Mexico border.
[14] Supply and demand of human trafficking is normalized in capitalist societies where consumers feel it is their right to receive the services they paid for.
Research done by Jo Bindman, claims in general sex workers face significantly higher discrimination by law enforcements, governmental authority and society.
[4] Due to inequality and disparities that result from globalization and the lack of regulation, there are certain groups who are more vulnerable than others of becoming victims of human trafficking.
These groups include and is not limited to individual who are impoverished, lack job opportunities, queer, and/or engage in harmful cultural traditions.
[13] Those who are living in poverty and lack the opportunity to at acquire a safe, honorable job are easily susceptible to the deceiving, manipulative tactics of human traffickers.
These countries have come to rely on migrant workers doing jobs in agriculture, construction, manufacturing and domestic service for low paying wages.
[7] However, many Latin American countries find it make progress against trafficking because they lack the resources and political power to enforce existing programs.