U.S. Department of State 2003 Trafficking in Persons Report - Cuba

Cuba (Tier 3)

Cuba is a country of internal trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced labor. Minors are victimized in sexual exploitation connected to the state-run tourism industry. Despite occasional measures by the Government of Cuba to crack down on prostitution, state-controlled tourism establishments and independent operators facilitate and even encourage the sexual exploitation of minors by foreign tourists. Government authorities turn a blind eye to this exploitation because such activity helps to win hard currency for state-run enterprises. Opponents of the Cuban government, often arrested under the crime of "dangerousness," are forced to carry out state-run construction and agricultural labor that profit the state. Laborers are coerced to work on foreign investment or government priority projects without adequate compensation, which is retained by the state. Children are coerced to perform agricultural work.

The Government of Cuba does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so. The government does not acknowledge that its tourism institutions are involved in the sexual trafficking of minors; it does not acknowledge that it participates in forced labor trafficking.

Prevention

The government does not acknowledge a trafficking problem per se, but does acknowledge the existence of prostitution. The government carries out no public awareness campaigns to warn of the dangers of trafficking, but it does endorse women's participation in economic decision-making and children staying in school.

Prosecution

The Cuban penal code makes it illegal to promote or organize the movement of persons in or out of the country for prostitution. The code outlaws pimping, and the selling of and trafficking in minors. Criminal penalties are imposed under the law, but the government makes no data available on the number of prosecutions and convictions of traffickers it has carried out. Over the years, the Cuban government has reversed its position regarding its condemnation of the prostitution that feeds sex tourism. There is no known law enforcement against traffickers who make available state-controlled public facilities for the sexual exploitation of minors.

Protection

Government assistance to trafficking victims is inadequate. Social workers and state-controlled "mass" organizations have provided some assistance to women in prostitution. Suspected prostitutes are known to be detained by the police and sent to rehabilitation or "reeducation" centers. Such centers provide legal and medical help, but have been criticized for violating the rights of the internees.