Cuba Rejects US Accusations of Trafficking in Persons

Countries covered in the report are placed in three categories, according to anti-trafficking performance. Those lowest rated, in Tier 3, are subject to US sanctions, where applicable, including cuts in non-humanitarian aid. There are thirteen Tier 3 countries this year, including Cuba.

A statement published in the website of the Cuban Foreign Ministry strongly rejects the US State Department’s allegations that in Cuba children are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically commercial sexual exploitation within the country.

“These shameful slanders deeply offend the Cuban people. There is no sex trafficking of children in Cuba. Our country has an exemplary record in the protection of children, youths and women,” the statement notes.

“Cuban legislation and measures adopted in this regard place Cuba among the leading countries of the region with the most advanced norms and mechanisms to prevent and fight human trafficking,” the note adds.

“This decision only responds to the US Government’s need to justify, under any excuse, its blockade of the island, a cruel policy that has been overwhelmingly rejected by the international community,” the text concludes.