Protests grow in Bolivia over human trafficking

Protests in Bolivia are growing over the number of people who disappear without trace. One organisation set up to monitor human trafficking estimates over 90 people were abducted in the first three months of this year.

Most are young women and children often smuggled into neighbouring Peru and Brazil and forced into prostitution.

Marcela Martinez whose daughter Zarlet has disappeared told a group of protesters, “This is a human rights crime that is occurring freely in our country. We have to fight against this crime, to bond together and work so no family again suffers this pain we suffering today.”

The Ombudsman of Bolivia and a network of families has been set up to pressure local authorities to act while the International Monitoring Organisation for Migration is helping to set up the necessary infrastructure to control the trafficking.

The police has been accused of not acting quickly enough. The latest case surrounds a 23-year-old woman who, it’s claimed, hasn’t been seen since leaving home on Thursday.

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