According to the Office of Rescue and Support of Victims of Trafficking, 4,602 victims of human trafficking were rescued by security officials in Argentina between 2008 and April 2013.
1,568 victims were rescued in 2012, with 48 percent of the victims being sexually exploited. 54 percent of the victims were originally from foreign countries, and 13 percent of the victims in 2012 were under the age of 18.
The number of victims rescued in 2012 was 257 percent higher than the 439 victims rescued in 2009.
(Revenue and profits of traffickers.)
Source: “Argentina: 4,602 human-trafficking victims rescued since 2008,” Infosurhoy, April 26, 2013.
In the first 7 months of 2012, authorities in Argentina rescued 712 human trafficking victims in over 300 raids across the country.85 percent of the victims were under the age of 18, and nearly 370 were originally from a foreign country.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that up to 500,000 women are involved in human trafficking activities in Argentina.
Source: Victoria Rossi, “Argentina Rescues 700 from Human Traffickers in 7 Months ,” InSight, August 21, 2012.
In the month of April 2012, authorities in Argentina rescued 176 people who were victims of human trafficking. The number of people rescued in the single month was higher then the total amount of victims rescued in the previous three months.
Human trafficking researchers state that the rise in human trafficking in Argentina is connected to the increase of drug trafficking in the country.
Source: Guillermo Fontana, “South American bishops pledge to fight human trafficking,” CNN, May 30, 2012.
In 2011, around 2,400 people from foreign countries were arrested for crimes in Chile. 70 percent of those arrested were for drug smuggling activities.
48 percent of the drug arrests were of people from Bolivia, 34 percent from Peru, and 8 percent of the foreign nationals were from Argentina.
In 2011, up to 5 percent of the jail population in Chile were of foreign nationals.
Source: Struan Campbell Gray, “Drug trafficking is the main crime of foreign nationals in Chile,” Santiago Times, February 13, 2012.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reports that 700,000 people use cocaine in Argentina.
The number equals to 25 percent of all cocaine users in Latin America.
Source: “World Drug Report 2011,” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, June 2011, page 91.
Below are selected prices that are paid to professional assassins by criminal organizations and drug cartels for a contract hit.
In Australia, the median price to hire a hit man is $13,610 (9,800 Euros), with the price going up to $83,000 (60,000 Euros) based on the task.
In Mexico, the cost for a low level assassin is $208 (150 Euros), and up to $20,832 (15,000 Euros) for a higher profile target like a police chief.
The prices paid in Argentina are between $3,749 (2,700 Euros) to $5,555 (4,000 Euros) per hit.
Government statistics in Spain state that 40 assassinations take place each year, with prices for the hit ranging between $27 (20 Euros) to $69,000 (50,000 Euros).
(Click here for more contract killing prices.)
Source: Virdiana Ross, “Mexico: Assassins on the ‘Cheap’,” International Relations and Security Network, October 11, 2010.
Counterfeit goods in Argentina account for 75 percent of all sales made within the country, according to an estimate published by the European Trade Commission.
Among the items in Argentina’s counterfeiting industry:
- Counterfeit sparkling wine producers in Argentina sell 4 million bottles a year. The counterfeit bottles misappropriate the geographic indications of where the sparkling wine was produced, and sales of the counterfeit bottles make up to 50 percent of the total market.
- The sale of counterfeit pesticides in Argentina leads to losses of $26 Million (18.5 Million Euros) for legitimate agrochemical producers.
- Sales of counterfeit cigarettes account for 8.8 percent of all cigarettes sales in Argentina.
- Up to $100 Million in revenue is lost each year due to movie and television piracy. The total losses is equal to about 52 percent of the total potential movie market.
Source: “Argentina: IPR Enforcement Report 2009,” European Trade Commission, June 25, 2009.
