Tenancingo Municipality, Tlaxcala

Tenancingo is a municipality and a town in the Mexican state of Tlaxcala in south-eastern Mexico. Tenancingo is now considered to be the center for sex trafficking throughout Mexico, with roots of the practice dating back to the 1970s.[1][2][3] It is home to local organized crime operations who work in collaboration with the larger cartels: Los Zetas, Nuevo Milenio, Caballeros Templarios, and the Gulf Cartel.[4]

Tenancingo
Location of the municipality in Tlaxcala
Location of the municipality in Tlaxcala
Country Mexico
StateTlaxcala
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central Standard Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (Central Daylight Time)

Sex trade and human trafficking edit

Of the 10,000 inhabitants of Tenancingo, it is estimated that 1,000 are sex traffickers.[5] Local sexual exploitation, human trafficking, pimping and forced prostitution industries in Tenancingo are estimated to be worth $1 billion USD annually,[4] with direct ties to the international sex trade.[6][7] These practices have been denounced by dozens of NGOs.[6][8]

Recent investigations and a documentary Pimp City: A Journey to the Center of the Sex Trade (2014), have revealed that the small town was identified by the United States Department of Justice as the leading provider of female sex slaves to the United States.[9] According to the documentary, the entire political structure and police force of the town are implicated in human trafficking and sex trade.[10] The U.N. estimates profits for the global human trafficking and sex trade industries at US$32 billion annually, making it the third most profitable illegal global industry.[11]

On October 11, 2019, the Attorney General of Mexico arrested three members of a sex-trafficking ring in Tenancingo.[12]

References edit

  1. ^ Alejandro, Lopez de Haro (4 June 2012). "Sex Trafficking Ring From Mexico To New York Discovered". www.huffingtonpost.com. Huffington Post. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  2. ^ de los Reyes, Ignacio. "Tenancingo, viaje a la capital de la esclavitud sexual en México". www.bbc.co.uk/. BBC Mundo. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  3. ^ Vazquez, Rafael. "¿Tlaxcala: La Meca de los padrotes?". www.sdpnoticias.com/columnas/2012/10/31/tlaxcala-la-meca-de-los-padrotes. SDP Noticias. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  4. ^ a b Embargo, Sin. "Cárteles ganan 10 mmdd con trata de mujeres; menores entran a "padrotear"". www.vanguardia.com.mx. Vanguardia. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  5. ^ Trevelyan, Laura; Botti, David; de los Reyes, Ignacio. "Tenancingo: the town sex trafficking built". www.bbc.com. BBC.
  6. ^ a b Erica, Pearson (3 June 2012). "Small Mexican town of Tenancingo is major source of sex trafficking pipeline to New York". www.nydailynews.com/. Daily News.
  7. ^ Castro Soto, Oscar Arturo. "LA INICIATIVA POPULAR EN TLAXCALA ACCIONES COLECTIVAS PARA EL COMBATE A LA TRATA DE MUJERES" (PDF). idhieibero.org/. Centro Fray Julián Garcés, Derechos Humanos y Desarrollo Local, A. C. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-09.
  8. ^ Castro Soto, Oscar Arturo. "LA INICIATIVA POPULAR EN TLAXCALA ACCIONES COLECTIVAS PARA EL COMBATE A LA TRATA DE MUJERES" (PDF). idhieibero.org/. Centro Fray Julián Garcés, Derechos Humanos y Desarrollo Local, A. C. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-09.
  9. ^ "HUMAN TRAFFICKING ASSESSMENT TOOL REPORT FOR MEXICO" (PDF). www.americanbar.org/aba.html. the American Bar Association. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  10. ^ Brennan, Alice. "Prostitution Pipeline to U.S. Begins in Tenancingo, Mexico". hereandnow.wbur.org/. Fusion. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  11. ^ Grillo, Ioan (31 July 2013). "The Mexican Drug Cartels' Other Business: Sex Trafficking". Time. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  12. ^ "La FGR desarticula banda dedicada a la trata de personas en Tlaxcala" [The Attorney General of Mexico dismantles a sex-trafficking ring in Tlaxcala]. Informador (in Spanish).

19°09′N 98°12′W / 19.150°N 98.200°W / 19.150; -98.200