US Trafficking in Persons report highlights decrease in victim protection efforts in Guyana

The U.S Government has released its latest Trafficking in Persons report, and has flayed the Guyana Government over what it sees as a decrease in victim protection efforts.

Although the report also stated that the Government of Guyana fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, and continues o demonstrate serious and sustained efforts to combat trafficking in persons, it highlighted a decrease in victim protection efforts.

The report found 296 women and eight girls being exploited in sex trafficking rings, 85 adult males exploited in forced labor, and one boy exploited in an unspecified form of trafficking while 25 victims were referred to care.

In the 2026 Trafficking in Persons report, the US Government noted that the 2025 figures represented a slight drop from 2024, when 302 women and eight girls were exploited in sex trafficking; 104 men and one boy were exploited in labor trafficking.

The victims, according to the report, included 15 Guyanese nationals and 375 foreign nationals from Venezuela, Brazil, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, India, and Colombia.

“The government had victim identification SOPs and an NRM. Some NGOs indicated that the NRM precluded their involvement after a suspected victim enters government care, making it difficult for them to assess the NRM’s practicality. Officials did not always screen sufficiently for trafficking indicators among certain at-risk populations; for example, despite reporting it screened Chinese national workers upon their arrival and inspecting worksites of Chinese workers, the government did not report identifying any trafficking victims among this at-risk population,” the reported highlighted.

The report also revealed that the Government provided shelter, health care, counseling, legal services, and repatriation assistance directly and through partnerships with civil society organizations to victims and had previously operated and fully funded shelters for adults and children. However, the report stated that some of the shelters were closed last year.

“The government had formal policies to provide foreign trafficking victims legal alternatives to their removal to countries where they might face retribution or hardship. The government reported granting four victims work permits in 2025. Foreign and Guyanese victims received the same access to services; however, the government reported difficulties in administering services to foreign victims due to language barriers,” the reported stated.

The report said the government also provided victim-witness assistance to support victim participation in criminal justice proceedings, including legal counseling, transportation, and witness preparation.

Further, the U.S said the government took actions as it relates to forced labour when it ended the Cuban medical programme.

It noted that there were 370 Cuban regime-affiliated workers in Guyana in 2025; however, at the beginning of 2026, the Cuban regime ended the bilateral health cooperation agreement with Guyana when Guyanese authorities sought to adopt fair labor conditions for Cuban workers and to address forced labor concerns.

The report noted that the Guyana Government authorities offered all Cuban workers in the country direct employment and protection. About 110 of those workers stayed, while the others returned to Cuba.

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