Curacao Issues - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Refugees and internally displaced persons

refugees (country of origin): 14,200 (Venezuela) (2021)

Trafficking in persons

tier rating: Tier 3 — Curacao does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore Curacao was downgraded to Tier 3; the government took some steps to address trafficking, including providing pre-trial support to three victims participating in legal proceedings against traffickers, awarding restitution to two victims, and extending the national action plan that expired in December 2021; however, authorities did not convict any traffickers or identify any victims, and continued to condition assistance to foreign victims on their cooperation with law enforcement in cases against traffickers; officials conflated trafficking with migrant smuggling, and the lack of funding remained a primary obstacle to anti-trafficking efforts; limited judiciary familiarity with trafficking contributed to frequent acquittals in trafficking cases (2022)

trafficking profile: human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Curacao; undocumented migrants, especially the substantial population of Venezuelans, are vulnerable to sex and labor trafficking; traffickers exploit women and girls, particularly from Curacao, Dominican Republic, and Venezuela, in sex trafficking; migrants from other Caribbean countries, South America, China, and India are subject to forced labor in construction, domestic servitude, landscaping, minimarkets, retail, and restaurants (2022)

Illicit drugs

northbound transshipment points for cocaine from Colombia and Venezuela; cocaine is transported to the United States, other Caribbean islands, Africa, and Europe

NOTE: The information regarding Curacao on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Curacao 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Curacao 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.