Caribbean countries face mixed ratings in US Human Trafficking Report

The United States Department of State has released its 2025 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, highlighting the state of human trafficking in the Caribbean and worldwide.

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The report defines “trafficking in persons” or “human trafficking” as a crime in which traffickers exploit and profit from adults or children by compelling them to perform labor or engage in commercial sex. The Department noted that “when a person younger than 18 is used to perform a commercial sex act, it is a crime regardless of whether there is any force, fraud, or coercion involved.” Washington identifies two primary forms of trafficking: sex trafficking and forced labor.

In the Caribbean, The Bahamas, Guyana, and Suriname were placed in Tier 1, meaning their governments fully meet the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) minimum standards for eliminating trafficking.

Countries including Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Belize, Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago were listed in Tier 2, where governments do not fully meet TVPA standards but are making significant efforts toward compliance.

St. Lucia and Barbados were placed on the Tier 2 Watch List, which identifies governments making efforts toward compliance but facing significant trafficking issues or not taking proportional actions to address the problem.

Tier 3 countries, whose governments do not meet minimum standards and are not making significant efforts, include Saint Maarten, Venezuela, and Cuba. Haiti, along with Libya, Somalia, and Yemen, was designated a “Special Case.”

The TIP Report notes that the TVPA defines “severe forms of trafficking” as sex trafficking involving force, fraud, or coercion—or cases involving individuals under 18—and forced labor, including debt bondage, peonage, or slavery.

The United States uses the Tier system to guide foreign policy, including potential restrictions on foreign assistance and votes at multilateral development banks for Tier 3 countries. The report also cites that over 180 countries have ratified the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, which obligates nations to prevent and combat trafficking.

The 2025 TIP Report underscores the continued challenge of trafficking in the Caribbean and worldwide, highlighting both progress and persistent gaps in protecting vulnerable populations.