U.S. Dep't of State, 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report: Curaçao

CURAÇAO (Tier 2)* The Government of Curaçao does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period; therefore, Curaçao was upgraded to Tier 2. These efforts included convicting a trafficker for the first time since 2020, identifying and assisting five trafficking victims, increasing funding for anti-trafficking efforts, adopting a new strategy for protection and prevention efforts, initiating several new awareness campaigns, and investigating reports of official complicity in human trafficking. However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several areas.

The government issued a suspended sentence to the convicted trafficker rather than a term of imprisonment; it did not initiate any trafficking prosecutions; and continued to condition assistance to foreign victims, including residency, on cooperation with law enforcement in cases against traffickers. Officials demonstrated limited familiarity with human trafficking and conflated the crime with migrant smuggling, hindering the effectiveness of prosecution, prevention, and protection efforts. Officials did not regularly perform proactive screenings among vulnerable groups and use of identification SOPs was inconsistent. PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS: Investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes and convict traffickers, including complicit officials, and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms.

Increase efforts to proactively identify victims, including through screening vulnerable populations, such as detained migrants and individuals in commercial sex. Provide potential victims, including those who choose not to cooperate with law enforcement in cases against traffickers, with services. Improve coordination and information-sharing with anti-trafficking stakeholders within the government, across the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and civil society. Revise the SOP for victim identification to reflect changes in available resources; implement and train officials to use the revised SOP.

Train law enforcement and judicial sector officials to distinguish between human trafficking, migrant smuggling, and labor code violations. Increase funding for victim services, including staffing, specialized care for trafficking victims, and services accessible to male victims. Allocate and disburse sufficient resources for anti-trafficking efforts, including law enforcement efforts. Fully implement the current NAP and strategic policy.

PROSECUTION

The government slightly increased prosecution efforts. Article 2:239 of the penal code criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking and prescribed penalties of up to nine years’ imprisonment or a fifth category fine of up to 100,000 Antillean guilder ($56,180) for crimes involving a victim 16 years of age or older, and up to 12 years in prison or a fine for those involving a victim younger than 16. These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes, such as kidnapping. The Curaçao Police Force’s (KPC) organized crime unit (DGC) was the law enforcement entity responsible for anti-trafficking efforts; DGC worked closely with the public prosecutor’s office to investigate trafficking crimes.

Authorities initiated two sex trafficking investigations in 2024, the same number initiated in 2023. The government reported it continued to investigate one ongoing sex trafficking case. The government did not initiate any prosecutions in 2024 or 2023. Judges convicted one trafficker, which represented Curacao’s first trafficking conviction since 2020.

The conviction stemmed from a 2022 acquittal, which the courts overruled after prosecutors filed to appeal; the courts sentenced the convicted trafficker to a suspended three-month sentence and a 78,000 guilder ($44,067) fine. Courts often convicted suspected traffickers of related crimes – such as migrant smuggling and labor code violations – in lieu of trafficking, even when prosecutors levied trafficking charges; observers indicated the judiciary’s limited familiarity with trafficking led prosecutors to charge traffickers with these related crimes to secure conviction. Prosecutors struggled to build cases without victim testimony. According to media, the government investigated an alleged sex trafficking case involving several suspects, including multiple police officers allegedly complicit in the strategic deportation of victims following their exploitation; the investigation remained ongoing at the conclusion of the reporting period, and the government held two suspects in pre-trial detention.

The DGC funded anti-trafficking activities under its transnational crime budget but, like most KPC units, operated with resource and personnel shortages. Some officials reported lack of funding and limited government resources disincentivized investigation of trafficking crimes. Observers expressed concern non-specialized law enforcement officials, such as patrol officers, had a limited understanding of trafficking and did not use a victim-centered approach. The government provided basic training on human trafficking indicators to police officers and airport staff in 2024.

The public prosecutor’s office had a dedicated human trafficking prosecutor assigned to oversee all trafficking cases, support proactive investigation, and coordinate with law enforcement. Officials often conflated human trafficking with migrant smuggling and sometimes charged alleged traffickers with migrant smuggling crimes.

PROTECTION

The government increased protection efforts. Authorities reported identifying five sex trafficking victims in 2024, all Colombian women, compared with identifying two trafficking victims in 2023. The DGC was responsible for conducting assessments to confirm trafficking victims’ status. Officials did not regularly perform proactive screenings among vulnerable groups, such as migrants or individuals in commercial sex, construction, supermarkets, and catering, despite a Kingdom-wide requirement to do so.

The government had a standard victim screening form, which officials utilized when interviewing potential trafficking victims, including detained migrants. The government reported providing basic care to all five victims, including shelter, a small stipend, and interpretation services; one victim received medical care. By comparison, the government provided extremely limited services to two victims in 2023. All five victims consented to supporting law enforcement proceedings to investigate alleged traffickers associated with their exploitation.

Assistance for victims was contingent upon cooperation with law enforcement efforts to prosecute traffickers. The government’s victim identification SOP stipulated victims were entitled to a reflection period of up to 30 days, while receiving services, before deciding to file a police report or participate in the trial against the trafficker; five victims benefited from the reflection period in 2024. The government’s procedures outlined services for trafficking victims, including shelter, meals, medical attention, and psychological services, and assigned an agency to provide each service. During the reporting period, the Ministry of Justice’s anti-trafficking and anti-smuggling coordination office (PATH) funded victim assistance through its dedicated budget.

PATH also coordinated with civil society service providers in the administration of certain services, such as housing and medical care. The government had an SOP for identifying trafficking victims and referring them to services; however, stakeholders’ use of the SOP was inconsistent. The SOP stipulated officials should refer all potential trafficking victims, male and female, to the DGC and the primary victim service provider, the Judicial Care Organization (UOJZ). In 2024, the government leased a property in partnership with an international organization to establish a temporary shelter for trafficking victims and designated a quasi-governmental organization to operate the facility.

The shelter, which served five victims in 2024, could accommodate up to 10 victims without age or sex restrictions. The government could sometimes place victims in shelters run by civil society organizations. Typically, these shelters had limited capacity to accommodate trafficking victims because they reserved space for other target populations, such as domestic violence victims, and restricted occupants’ age or sex; observers noted some shelters’ security protocols were inappropriate for trafficking victims. The government could also refer child trafficking victims to guardianship councils for placement in boarding school or foster care.

If existing shelter facilities reached maximum capacity, the government could place victims in short-term government-funded accommodations, such as hotels. The government reported allocating approximately 200,000 guilder ($112,360) to fund trafficking victim protection and assistance; by comparison, in 2023, it funded trafficking victim assistance through a 1.5 million guilder ($842,700) allocation for assistance to victims of violence. The government did not report the operating budget for the UOJZ, which supported victims of all crimes. Observers reported victims service providers were understaffed and relied on volunteer workers to provide support, including psychological services, to victims.

Foreign victims participating in trials were entitled to similar care as domestic victims. The government could provide no-cost medical insurance, funded by the Ministry of Social Services and Labor, to foreign trafficking victims. The government funded the repatriation of all five victims identified in 2024, at the victims’ request. Trafficking victims willing to participate in trials against traffickers could apply for a temporary residence permit valid for six months.

Officials could renew the permit, up to 18 months, if the criminal investigation or prosecution of the trafficker continued; however, authorities canceled residence permits upon the conclusion or dismissal of these criminal proceedings. In practice, funding shortfalls delayed processing of permit applications, creating uncertainty for foreign trafficking victims otherwise vulnerable to deportation. Foreign victims who did not participate in investigations against traffickers were not eligible for temporary residence permits and could not legally remain in Curaçao; due to inconsistent application of victim identification protocols and conflation between trafficking and migrant smuggling, authorities did not take effective measures to prevent the deportation of some victims who faced risks of retribution or hardship in their home countries, including Venezuelan nationals. Observers suggested the government’s infrequent issuance of residence permits and the absence of a long-term residency option discouraged victims and civil society organizations from reporting possible trafficking cases to government officials.

Through a separate administrative process, victims were eligible to apply for temporary work permits; however, the costs associated with the application rendered these permits inaccessible to most victims. Observers reported victims’ inability to work legally caused them hardship and hampered efforts to hold traffickers accountable; without a work permit, some victims receiving government services sought work outside legal channels or withdrew their support for ongoing investigations and prosecutions to depart Curaçao. The law stipulated trafficking victims could receive up to 50,000 guilder ($28,090) in restitution from traffickers. The government could advance victims 5,000 guilder ($2,810) to facilitate timely access to court-ordered restitution; however, some officials reported there were sometimes procedural delays in restitution payments for victims of all crimes.

Courts did not order restitution for any trafficking victims in 2024.

PREVENTION

The government increased prevention efforts. The national coordinator led the interagency anti-trafficking task force and oversaw the government’s efforts to combat trafficking. Together, the national coordinator and a newly-hired national rapporteur comprised PATH. The national coordinator managed a dedicated anti-trafficking budget of 500,000 guilder ($280,000), a notable increase from the 200,000 guilder ($112,360) allocated in 2023, alongside additional financial contributions from the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The task force met monthly in 2024 to coordinate anti-trafficking efforts across the government. Observers suggested the task force and other government entities coordinated insufficiently with civil society organizations; they also noted the government’s interagency coordination on anti-trafficking efforts appeared inconsistent, despite the task force’s regular meetings. The government continued to rely on its 2022-2026 NAP to guide anti-trafficking efforts. The NAP was not comprehensive because it only included efforts to hold traffickers criminally accountable; however, in 2024, the government adopted a secondary anti-trafficking strategic policy (2024-2026), which complemented the NAP by outlining specific objectives to protect victims and prevent trafficking.

The government continued to rely on a five-year allocation of 250,000 guilder ($140,450) to implement the NAP and national policy. The government increased awareness campaigns in partnership with the Kingdom, including new public art installations, and airport and bus signage. PATH reported spending approximately 192,915 guilder ($107,775) from its annual budget on awareness campaigns and other prevention efforts in 2024, compared with 186,000 guilder ($104,490) in 2023. The UOJZ continued to operate the government’s victim assistance hotline, which received at least one trafficking-related call; calls to the hotline were not toll-free.

The national coordinator collaborated regularly with national anti-trafficking coordinators from Aruba, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten under a 2023 MOU on the Kingdom’s coordinated anti-trafficking effort. On March 1, 2024, the Kingdom of the Netherlands accepted the terms of the Council of Europe Conviction on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings on behalf of Curaçao. The government did not make efforts to reduce demand for commercial sex. Government officials coordinated with airport administration to monitor ticketing and passenger logs for patterns indicative of human trafficking.

TRAFFICKING PROFILE: Trafficking affects all communities. This section summarizes government and civil society reporting on the nature and scope of trafficking as reported over the past five years. Human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Curaçao. Undocumented migrants in Curaçao, especially the substantial population of Venezuelan nationals, are vulnerable to both sex and labor trafficking.

Traffickers exploit women and girls from Curaçao, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela, among other countries, in sex trafficking. Women and girls working in Curaçao’s “snack bars” are vulnerable to sex trafficking; bar owners recruit victims with offers of work as waitresses or “trago girls” and subsequently force them into commercial sex. Traffickers exploit migrant workers from other Caribbean countries, South America, China, and India in domestic servitude, as well as forced labor in construction, landscaping, the maritime industry, minimarkets, retail, and restaurants. Venezuelan migrants are vulnerable to exploitation by Spanish-speaking traffickers, who may purport to offer employment assistance in Curaçao.

Research suggests traffickers in Curaçao may exploit more Curaçaoan and more male victims than previously understood. In 2020, COVID-19 pandemic-related movement restrictions prevented migrants from departing Curaçao, creating new trafficking risks for migrants who lost work during the economic downturn associated with the pandemic; traffickers may have exploited some of these individuals, taking advantage of their vulnerable position. Officials reported traffickers’ activity increased during the pandemic, especially individual traffickers acting independently. _______________ * Curaçao is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. For the purpose of this report, Curaçao is not a “country” to which the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act apply.

This narrative reflects how Curaçao would be assessed if it were a separate, independent country. However, the Kingdom is an important contributor to the Government of Curaçao’s anti-trafficking efforts. On This Page search > < CURAÇAO (Tier 2)* PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS: PROSECUTION PROTECTION PREVENTION TRAFFICKING PROFILE: Tags Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs Curacao Human Trafficking Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Reports