Foreign nationals accounted for more than 96 percent of the 390 trafficking victims identified in Guyana last year, according to the United States’ 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report.
The US State Department report revealed that 375 of the victims identified in 2025 were foreign nationals, while just 15 were Guyanese.
The foreign victims came from Venezuela, Brazil, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, India and Colombia.
Women exploited through sex trafficking accounted for the largest share of victims identified during the year.
According to the report, 296 women and eight girls were identified as victims of sex trafficking, while 85 adult males were exploited through forced labour. One boy was identified as a victim of an unspecified form of trafficking.
Overall, the number of victims identified fell from 416 in 2024 to 390 last year.
The State Department said human traffickers continue to exploit both Guyanese and foreign victims locally, while Guyanese are also trafficked abroad.
According to its assessment, trafficking occurs mainly in Guyana’s interior and remote regions, although cases also occur in urban areas.
The report identified mining, agriculture, forestry, construction, domestic service and shops as sectors where victims are subjected to forced labour.
Women and children from Guyana and other South and Central American countries are also exploited in sex trafficking in interior mining communities and urban areas.
The report identified migrants, women, young people from rural and minority communities, and children as being among those particularly vulnerable to trafficking.
Traffickers are also increasingly able to reach potential victims through technology.
“Traffickers use digital platforms, including social media, messaging applications, and online job advertisements, to recruit victims,” the report stated.
Those recruited through these means have reportedly been exploited in mines or employed as janitors and wait staff at bars and hotels.
The State Department also pointed to the particular challenges facing Guyana’s interior, where sex and labour trafficking occur in remote mining communities and, in some cases, are linked to organised crime networks associated with illegal mining.
It said limited government presence in the interior means the full extent of trafficking in those areas remains unknown.
Despite 390 victims being identified during 2025, the report said only 25 were referred to care.
The government provided trafficking victims with shelter, healthcare, counselling, legal services and repatriation assistance, both directly and through partnerships with civil society organisations.
Foreign and Guyanese victims were entitled to the same services, but authorities reported encountering language barriers when providing assistance to some foreign nationals.
The government also granted work permits to four trafficking victims during the year.
Meanwhile, the report said geographic distance delayed the delivery of social services to victims exploited in remote parts of Guyana, while some victims were reluctant to accept assistance because of fear or trauma.
The State Department nevertheless kept Guyana at Tier 1 in its 2026 report, finding that the government continues to fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.16:04
