[ Human Trafficking, Country-by-Country ]

NICARAGUA (Tier 3) – Extracted in part from the U.S. State Dept 2023 TIP Report

The Government of Nicaragua does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, even considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore Nicaragua remained on Tier 3. Despite the lack of significant efforts, the government took some steps to address trafficking, including passing a new NAP. However, the government continued to minimize the severity of the trafficking problem in Nicaragua through unreliable reporting; it did not have shelters or allocate funding for specialized victim services; it made negligible efforts to address labor trafficking, which remained a serious concern; and victim identification efforts remained inadequate. The government did not convict any traffickers and did not support Nicaraguan trafficking victims identified in foreign countries. The government did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees complicit in trafficking offenses, despite endemic corruption and widespread official complicity. The government did not make provision for specialized shelter or protection services for trafficking victims and, in the absence of government-furnished services, did not cooperate with civil society to fund or refer victims to them for support. The government did not report efforts to address the heightened vulnerability to trafficking of communities in Nicaragua’s two Caribbean autonomous regions.

Prioritized Recommendations

Significantly increase efforts to identify trafficking victims, especially labor trafficking victims and foreign national victims.

Investigate; prosecute; and convict traffickers, including complicit officials.

Vigorously implement the National Strategy for Comprehensive Attention to Victims of Trafficking in Persons by identifying victims, including among vulnerable populations, and effectively referring victims to appropriate services.

Partner with NGOs to provide victims short and long-term care and reintegration services and include them in National Coalition against Trafficking in Persons (NCATIP) meetings.

Increase funding for victim protection, finance the trafficking fund, and provide specialized services for trafficking victims.

Implement the NAP.

Increase training for government officials – including social workers, labor inspectors, and law enforcement officials – to facilitate increased victim identification and assistance.

Strengthen law enforcement and victim protection efforts in the Caribbean autonomous regions, especially through increased staff and funding.

Amend the 2015 anti-trafficking law to include a definition of trafficking in persons consistent with international law.