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

BELIZE (Tier 2) The Government of Belize 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, Belize remained on Tier 2. These achievements included allowing video testimonies from victims in court, increasing funding for victim protection services, launching a new National Action Plan (NAP) for 2024-2028, and providing residency permits to two victims. The government initiated prosecutions of suspected traffickers for the first time since 2022.

The government also enhanced investigation strategies by initiating efforts to map and create a database containing information on liquor outlets, where trafficking often occurred. However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. It did not adequately address official complicity in trafficking crimes or convict any traffickers. The government did not take adequate measures to screen Cuban regime-affiliated workers, Chinese nationals, or the significant population of Indian workers for indicators of trafficking.

It also did not adequately oversee labor recruitment or train its diplomats on trafficking prohibitions. PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS: Vigorously investigate and prosecute traffickers, including officials allegedly complicit in trafficking crimes, and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms. Consistently apply formal procedures to screen for and identify victims among vulnerable groups, including Chinese national and Cuban regime-affiliated workers, migrant workers, migrants transiting Belize seeking to illegally migrate to the United States, and children at risk of familial trafficking. Train immigration officials on the use of established SOPs for the proactive identification of trafficking victims among vulnerable populations, including migrant workers, and for the referral of victims to care services.

Consistently refer identified victims to services. Ensure victims are not inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked. Improve monitoring of employment contracts for Cuban, Chinese national, and Indian workers to reduce vulnerability to trafficking. Hire and train additional social workers to assist victims and refer to services.

Improve coordination between the anti-trafficking Police Unit and the Department of Labor and ensure investigations and victim referrals take place in cases the Labor Department identifies. Reduce court delays for trafficking cases. Ensure awarded restitution is paid to victims. Provide adequate resources for specialized victim services and collaborate with NGOs providing such services.

Continue implementation of the amnesty program to reduce the vulnerability of migrants to trafficking. Ensure labor and liquor license inspectors comply with domestic laws and policies, which require inspections of workplaces and screening for trafficking indicators. Provide anti-trafficking training for diplomats.

PROSECUTION

The government maintained prosecution efforts. The 2013 Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Act (TIP Act) criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking and prescribed penalties of up to eight years’ imprisonment for offenses involving adult victims and up to 12 years’ imprisonment for offenses involving child victims. These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with other grave crimes, such as rape. In addition, the 2013 Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (Prohibition) Act (CSEC Act) criminalized various offenses relating to the prostitution of anyone younger than 18.

Under the TIP Act, traffickers who were government officials and diplomats may be imprisoned for up to 15 years and must leave public office. The government finished drafting anti-trafficking legislation in consultation with NGOs that will amend the existing TIP Act; the draft remained pending legal review from the Attorney General. The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Police Unit (A-TIP Police Unit) was the police’s dedicated unit for conducting trafficking investigations and anti-trafficking operations. The A-TIP Police Unit initiated investigations of 13 individuals (nine for sex trafficking, three for labor trafficking, and one for an unspecified form of trafficking), compared with 20 individuals investigated in 2023.

The government continued investigations of 16 individuals initiated in 2023; and from the 13 identified in 2024, it closed five investigations, three of which were found not to involve trafficking and two victims chose not to participate in the prosecution of the alleged traffickers. The government also initiated prosecutions of five suspected traffickers (four for sex trafficking and one for labor trafficking), compared with zero prosecutions during the previous two years. Authorities continued previously initiated prosecutions of 12 traffickers (eight for sex trafficking, two for labor trafficking, and one for both sex and labor trafficking). Authorities prosecuted four traffickers under the trafficking law and one defendant under the CSEC Act.

Courts did not convict any traffickers in 2024, compared with convicting two in 2023. The government previously reported delays in initiating prosecutions and arriving at convictions due to the complexity of ongoing investigations. The government did not report any prosecutions or convictions of government employees complicit in human trafficking crimes; however, corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes – particularly among lower-level officials who likely facilitated transportation of victims or took bribes to ignore trafficking crimes – remained significant concerns, inhibiting law enforcement action during the year. The Director of Public Prosecutions continued to review one investigation initiated in a previous reporting period of an allegedly complicit police officer and authorities continued to investigate two high-ranking retired government officials – a police officer and an immigration officer – for alleged labor trafficking of a Salvadoran while in government service.

The government continued to prohibit the practice of off-duty police officers providing security for bars and nightclubs, where commercial sex frequently occurred, to limit police complicity in trafficking crimes in these establishments. The government and NGOs reported no violations of the prohibition during the reporting period. Authorities continued to screen passengers in vehicles for trafficking indicators at two checkpoints in strategic areas; conducted a targeted, intelligence-led joint operation, and made routine checks at border areas suspected of trafficking activities. The TIP Act required all officials to report suspected trafficking cases to the A-TIP Police Unit for investigation.

The A-TIP Police Unit had eight designated officers, including two women who conducted screenings of potential female victims, and coordinated its trafficking investigations with officials from the Immigration Department, the Ministry of Human Development (MHD) and its associated departments, the Social Security Board, and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). One observer reported recruits for law enforcement units dedicated to trafficking lacked sufficient experience or qualifications to work trafficking cases. The government reported all investigators and social workers were trained in Spanish; in addition, A-TIP Police and social workers used the services of trusted Mandarin and Hindi translators. A-TIP Police Unit SOPs required agents to accompany immigration officers when conducting operations to counter suspected trafficking.

MHD’s Department of Human Services (DHS), the Immigration Department, the Belize Police Department (BPD), and an international organization referred cases to the A-TIP Police Unit for investigation. The police cyber unit investigated suspicious online job advertisements and contacted the A-TIP Police Unit if it identified trafficking indicators but reported no investigations found trafficking indicators. The A-TIP Police Unit had an office space and a dedicated vehicle; the office space provided a secure, private, and non-threatening location for interviewing victims and witnesses of trafficking, collecting evidence, and planning operations. Law enforcement authorities lacked equipment and personnel to adequately pursue trafficking investigations.

The A-TIP Police Unit referred cases to DPP for prosecution. DPP did not have a specialized unit dedicated solely to trafficking; however, DPP reported it prioritized trafficking cases. The Inferior Court initiated procedures in all trafficking cases, which were then sent directly to be tried by the High Court. One High Court Justice specialized in trafficking cases.

The government reported courts had adequate resources for the number of cases processed; other observers noted the justice system was inefficient and lacked personnel, including judges. Authorities reported that many trafficking cases did not reach the trial stage due to long delays, defendants often leaving the country, and intimidation and witness tampering. Authorities reported the Protection of Witnesses Act of 2022 lack adequate measures to sufficiently protect witnesses. The government reported the judicial sector had the capacity to hear cases virtually.

The A-TIP Police Unit trained defense officials, immigration officials, police, and social workers on the anti-trafficking law and victim indicators, in cooperation with an international organization for some of these trainings.

PROTECTION

The government maintained efforts to protect victims. Authorities identified 15 trafficking victims, including 10 exploited in sex trafficking, three in forced labor, and two in unspecified forms of trafficking, compared with 17 victims identified in 2023. The 15 identified victims included 11 girls, two women, and two men. NGOs reported the government did not have the capacity to formally identify all potential victims, and the government’s statistics therefore likely did not include all victims.

The A-TIP Police Unit screened 117 foreign nationals for trafficking indicators, compared to 210 foreign nationals screened in the previous reporting period. Observers previously noted front-line officials disproportionately focused on screening foreign potential victims; however, authorities reported continuing to include establishments with Belizean workers – such as bakeries, breweries, and restaurants – as part of their inspections and law enforcement actions. The government referred all 15 victims to government services, the same as in 2023, per SOPs. The government also continued to offer services to previously identified victims.

Authorities did not repatriate any foreign victims, compared with repatriating four victims in the previous reporting period. The A-TIP Police Unit coordinated with the Immigration Department, Public Health Department, and MHD when planning operations to ensure services were available to potential victims. SOPs for police, immigration officers, and social workers addressed screening for trafficking indicators, victim interviews, victim health screening, and removal of victims from trafficking situations. The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Council (A-TIP Council) and DHS regularly reviewed and updated the SOPs with assistance from an NGO and input from victims.

With assistance from a foreign-funded NGO, the A-TIP Council and MHD implemented SOPs on the protection of victims, validated in 2023. The government also implemented identification and referral guidelines for front-line police, immigration, and customs officers, along with medical personnel, social workers, and private companies offering essential services. The government reported conducting annual trainings on the identification and referral guidelines for relevant officials; however, officials reported immigration officers were not adequately trained in identifying trafficking victims, and government stakeholders did not have an effective system for maintaining relevant contacts in other agencies. An NGO reported officials did not adequately screen some migrants who did not speak English for trafficking indicators.

Officials used the 2021 Protocols for Accompanied and Unaccompanied Migrant Children to refer migrant children, including potential trafficking victims, to appropriate authorities for care. Victims’ fear of detention or deportation contributed to their reluctance to report trafficking to law enforcement officers. Authorities contacted relevant embassies for potential consular services for foreign victims. Victims identified during the screening process could also apply for refugee status; the government did not report any victims doing so.

The government did not report screening Cuban regime-affiliated medical professionals in the country for trafficking indicators. The government previously reported it had an agreement with the Cuban regime to repatriate Cubans in an undocumented status, even those seeking asylum; however, the government did not report whether this agreement was still in place during the reporting period. Law enforcement, immigration, and social services personnel also did not effectively screen Chinese national or Indian workers potentially in situations of indentured servitude for trafficking indicators. The government provided foreign trafficking victims with the same services as domestic victims.

The government referred adult and child victims and their families to DHS’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Care Unit DHS and MHD, which had a trafficking unit, were responsible for providing victims with trauma-informed care. DHS received referrals from hospitals, the Immigration Department, the BPD, human services offices, and anonymous calls. DHS and MHD provided housing, basic necessities, medical care, and counseling to identified victims. The government partnered with civil society organizations to provide victims with services, including independent living support, education and skills training, child care supplies, legal assistance, assistance to regularize migration status, recreation, transportation within and out of the country in cases where victims returned to testify, and other specialized services.

The government covered the costs for all of these services provided through the duration of criminal proceedings and as part of the re-integration process. DHS had 47 social workers who received specialized training and could provide immediate short-term assistance to trafficking victims. Trafficking victims were referred to the DHS TIP Care Unit, comprising two social workers and one social service coordinator, for long-term specialized services. The government allocated funding to hire 32 additional DHS social workers in the 2025-2026 national budget, which was pending approval at the end of the reporting period.

The DHS TIP Care Unit could receive additional social workers from DHS to meet higher caseloads. The government reported that, because of the scarcity of mental health services in the public system, private providers delivered medical and counseling services. Authorities could provide victims with protective custody if needed, but did not report doing so during the reporting period. Although the TIP Act prohibited criminal liability for immigration-related or other criminal offences committed as a direct result of being trafficked, some children may have been held in pre-trial detention for gang-related crimes they were forced to commit.

In such circumstances, the government reported providing counseling and rehabilitation services to the child, and, if the child was identified as a victim during preliminary hearings, the government would place the child under state protection and provide additional counseling and rehabilitation and reintegration services. NGOs previously reported the government arrested and deported potential victims for immigration offenses without screening them for trafficking. NGOs recommended lower court magistrates require screening before hearing immigration cases. The government did not fund or operate any shelters for adult victims.

NGOs operated two shelters for women, one of which could accommodate up to 30 migrant women and their infant children up to six months old. The shelters were available for potential and confirmed victims on an emergency basis; confirmed victims who chose not to be repatriated could remain in shelters for more than six months. Authorities placed child victims in the government-funded foster care system or group homes, or reunited the child with family members if the case did not involve familial trafficking. The government managed the operations ofan NGO-owned shelter for migrant children, including trafficking victims, with the support of an international organization.

Female child migrant victims ages 16-17 years could also stay in one of the NGO shelters for adult women. MHD also had arrangements with an NGO to shelter male victims; the government did not report any male victims using the shelter. Adult victims could also choose to live independently in arrangements the government approved as safe and receive government services. The government allocated 400,000 Belize dollars (BZD) ($200,000) for victim assistance, compared with 200,000 BZD ($100,000) in the previous reporting period.

This amount covered victim services, transportation, funding for the child migrant shelter, and other operational funds. The government reported it supported and encouraged victim participation in investigations and in the prosecution of their traffickers and did not limit the time protection services were available nor make them conditional upon victim cooperation with law enforcement; services extended beyond the disposition of legal cases. The government took extensive steps to protect victim-witnesses during trials. Eight victim-witnesses cooperated with new or ongoing investigations or prosecutions of traffickers.

Authorities began allowing victims to provide written statements or video recordings for evidence. Adult victims could move freely about the country or leave while trials were pending. Courts could order restitution, and victims could seek compensation if a case resulted in conviction; however, no victims were awarded restitution or compensation. Foreign victims could receive permanent residency status with the possibility for citizenship and work permits regardless of their cooperation with investigations or prosecutions.

The government issued residency permits to two victims and reported no victims applied for a work permit. The government issued permanent residency permits and social security cards to four trafficking victims whom DHS had assisted in a previous reporting period in applying for protection under an amnesty program.

PREVENTION

The government increased prevention efforts. The A-TIP Council coordinated the government’s anti-trafficking efforts. The Chief Executive Officer of MHD chaired the Council while serving simultaneously in several other official positions due to personnel and resource limitations. The A-TIP Council comprised key ministries and two NGOs.

The Council held three meetings, and its committees met multiple times. The government launched a new NAP for 2024-2028. The government allocated a budget for the A-TIP Council in the amount of 400,000 BZD ($200,000) for the fiscal year April 2025 – March 2026, compared to 403,098 BZD ($201,550) allocated for the previous fiscal year. The budget was pending approval at the end of the reporting period.

Approved funds will support the NAP, A-TIP Unit, A-TIP Council, and DHS Care Unit. Funding for each department’s anti-trafficking activities and victim assistance came out of the national budget. The A-TIP Council’s Focal Point, which served as an interagency coordinator and manager, systematically documented the government’s efforts on human trafficking in the areas of prevention, prosecution, protection, and partnerships and maintained an associated database. The government partnered with an international organization and an NGO to develop two awareness raising videos, which were both aired on national television.

The government also continued to distribute various other awareness-raising materials, and the A-TIP Council appeared on television and radio talk shows. The government made awareness-raising materials available in English and Spanish. The A-TIP Council served as subject matter experts to ensure awareness materials did not legitimize or perpetuate harmful or racialized narratives about what victims, survivors, and perpetrators looked like and requested survivors and mental health practitioners validate the materials. The government did not operate or fund a trafficking hotline but could receive reports from a general crimestoppers hotline, website, or application.

The police did not report any investigations resulting from these methods. The government reportedly did not effectively collaborate with some NGOs and did not consistently respond to raised concerns. The government and an international organization reported approximately 13,500 migrants (including at least four trafficking victims) had applied to the government’s amnesty program ended in March 2023, which could have potentially reduced trafficking vulnerabilities among up to 40,000 eligible migrants. The government approved approximately 5,800 applications for an unknown number of beneficiaries as of March 2025.

Previous reports indicated a significant segment of the undocumented migrant population did not take advantage of the program because they were not made aware of the program in time to apply or because of the prohibitive financial burden. The government continued to implement a 2023 law requiring visas for Haitians and additional documentation for Jamaicans arriving in Belize due to increased concerns about human trafficking and migrant smuggling. The National Assembly passed legislation in February 2024 to raise the mandatory school attendance age from 14 to 16 years, which may help reduce trafficking vulnerabilities among children. The government reported implementing measures to prohibit and prevent trafficking in the supply chains of its own public procurement through regular inspections of its private-sector partners.

In 2023, the Labor Department, in collaboration with other agencies, drafted and submitted for cabinet approval a labor and migrant workers policy which would address gaps in the system to verify the existence of employment opportunities in the service industry as traffickers often use false promised of employment to lure potential victims. The policy remained pending cabinet approval at the end of the reporting period. The government banned worker-paid recruitment fees, and the law provided for fair recruitment practices and safeguarding of wages paid to the employee. The labor code required labor recruiters to register with a national labor recruiter registry, but observers reported a labor recruiter registry had not been established.

The government continued to collaborate with the Caribbean Community and an international organization to align migration and labor policies with international standards, prioritizing ethical recruitment practices and worker protections. The government trained labor inspectors on identifying trafficking indicators, especially among migrant workers. The Ministry of Labor maintained an online system to facilitate labor complaints but did not receive any. Foreign workers had to obtain a work permit from the Employment Permit Committee before they engaged in any form of paid work; this body included a social worker responsible for identifying vulnerable groups or individuals.

The government continued to design a seasonal migrant temporary work permit program in cooperation with a foreign government, which aimed to minimize the risk of trafficking in the issuance of temporary work permits; however, this program was not implemented. The government held discussions with a foreign government to ensure its bilateral labor agreement with the country did not facilitate trafficking. The law did not require migrant workers to obtain permission to change employers. The government continued to implement an online system for employers to apply for temporary employment permits.

Employers were required to notify the Labor Department when a worker’s employment ended, after which a new employer could apply for a permit for the worker. A temporary employment policy excluded foreign workers from certain job positions that were especially at risk for trafficking, including bar and nightclub waitresses, cooks, common laborers, small business clerks and managerial staff, waitresses in other establishments, security guards, domestic workers, caregivers, and construction helpers. Observers noted the government did not adequately monitor labor contracts for Chinese national workers who arrive legally in the country but may be later exploited in forced labor. Observers previously noted many members of vulnerable communities were employed in agriculture and other informal sectors in rural areas that often fell outside the geographical area monitored by the A-TIP Police Unit and in these areas, labor inspectors were relied upon to identify trafficking; however, authorities did not report conducting child labor inspections in rural areas.

Although the government reported the number of inspectors was adequate, observers reported a shortage of qualified personnel, vehicles, fuel, and operating funds to conduct adequate inspections to identify labor violations, including potential trafficking victims. The government reported making efforts to map liquor outlets – which were known sites of trafficking – across the country to create a centralized database. The government provided trafficking awareness training to liquor licensing board officials across the country. Observers noted liquor license inspectors were unpaid and had other day jobs, resulting in sporadic inspections and potential corruption.

Previous reports indicated liquor licensing boards routinely failed to conduct inspections of restaurants where commercial sex, including potential sex and labor trafficking crimes, allegedly took place. Observers noted this was largely to avoid having to open investigations into alleged exploitation, including trafficking. In partnership with civil society, the government produced and aired on national television an educational video on child labor and its relationship with human trafficking. The government consulted with a foreign government on labor inspection best practices, held a webinar to increase collaboration with civil society stakeholders on strategies to combat child labor, and signed agreements with two industrial associations to coordinate efforts addressing child labor.

The government made efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts, including disseminating materials to educate the public on child sexual exploitation and the consequences of engaging in commercial sex acts. The government trained tourism and hospitality workers to identify and report potential cases of trafficking. The law allowed for Belizean citizens to be tried for trafficking and extraterritorial child commercial sexual exploitation and abuse crimes committed abroad; the government did not report investigating any cases of extraterritorial child sexual commercial exploitation. The government sponsored billboards to combat extraterritorial child sexual commercial exploitation at the international airport and border-crossing points.

The government participated in a bilateral program to identify and deny tourist entry to registered sex offenders. The government did not provide anti-trafficking training to its diplomatic personnel. TRAFFICKING PROFILE: 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 Belize, and traffickers exploit victims from Belize abroad. The country’s reliance on the tourism and agricultural sectors, proximity to the United States, and weak security and police forces relative to neighboring countries all increase human trafficking vulnerability. Groups considered most at risk for trafficking in Belize include women, children, migrants, those experiencing economic difficulties, including pandemic-related unemployment, agricultural workers, and individuals vulnerable on the basis of their sexual orientation or identity. Sex traffickers exploit Belizean and foreign adults, girls, and individuals vulnerable on the basis of their sexual orientation or identity, primarily from Central America, in bars, nightclubs, hotels, and brothels.

Labor traffickers primarily exploit individuals from Central American countries. During the pandemic, sex trafficking mostly moved to more tightly controlled, illegal brothels rather than bars and clubs and involved a network of taxi operators who provided a connection between those involved in commercial sex and patrons; the change made reporting more difficult as the commercial sex trade moved further underground, into private residences. Trafficking returned to bars and clubs after the pandemic. Tourism-related industries lure workers through the offer of legitimate service jobs and exploit them in sex trafficking.

These illicit operations are typically small in scale and unconnected to organized transnational trafficking networks. Family members facilitate the sex trafficking of Belizean women and girls, including through an arrangement where a wealthy male will offer payment or gifts to a family in exchange for sex from a young, usually female, family member. This practice includes Guatemalan victims unable to pay school fees in Belize. Gang members and other criminals coerce or force children, especially boys ages 10 to 15 years, to transport firearms and ammunition and to sell narcotics; in some cases, boys are reportedly compelled to participate in the killing of rival gang members.

Although many victims in the country are Belizean, foreign adults – particularly from Asia, Central America, Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, and Mexico migrate to or transit Belize en route to the United States in search of work, and traffickers often exploit victims using false promises of relatively high paying jobs or take advantage of migrants’ illegal status to exploit them in forced labor in restaurants, bars, shops, domestic work, and agriculture. Migrant girls are also exploited in sex trafficking, sometimes by family members, and migrant boys are exploited in labor trafficking, especially in agriculture. The law does not allow asylum-seekers to obtain work permits, increasing their vulnerability to trafficking. Observers note labor trafficking disproportionately affects women.

Chinese nationals and Indians may be exploited in Belize in domestic service and indentured servitude. Chinese nationals may be vulnerable to forced labor on fishing vessels registered in Belize. Chinese nationals working in construction in Belize, during previous reporting periods, may have been forced to work, even by Chinese government-affiliated enterprises. Cuban regime-affiliated medical professionals in Belize may be forced to work by the Cuban regime.

Sources note there were approximately 88 Cuban regime-affiliated medical workers in Belize as part of an ongoing bilateral labor agreement with the Cuban regime. Belizean authorities reported workers had control of their passports; however, the Belizean government paid the workers only a portion of their salaries and paid the rest directly to the Cuban regime. In tourist regions, foreign perpetrators of extraterritorial commercial child sexual exploitation and abuse, primarily from the United States, exploit child sex trafficking victims. NGOs report some police and immigration officers take bribes in return for ignoring trafficking, facilitating illegal entries, failing to report suspected victims and perpetrators, and failing to act on reported cases under their jurisdiction.

The government did not report investigation allegations reported in previous reporting periods of allegedly corrupt immigration officials selling illegal passports. On This Page search > < BELIZE (Tier 2) PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS: PROSECUTION PROTECTION PREVENTION TRAFFICKING PROFILE: Tags Belize Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs Human Trafficking Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Reports