Mexico Tourism Records Hide a Dark Reality: Human Trafficking Surge

Mexico set a new tourism record between January and May 2026, receiving more than 20 million visitors. But this boom has a dark underside. On the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons (July 30), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) called for stronger cross-border cooperation, as the country's human trafficking crisis deepens.

Trafficking Cases Rose 45% in One Year

According to the Global Organized Crime Index 2025, criminal groups are increasingly involved in human trafficking in Mexico. Among them are the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación and the Sinaloa Cartel. Within a single year, the number of cases reported to authorities jumped by 45 percent. Experts warn that only a fraction of actual cases are ever reported.

The Mexican civic organization Consejo Ciudadano para la Seguridad y Justicia reports that seven out of ten trafficking victims are women, and nearly half are minors.

A Survivor's Story

Mixi Cruz was just 13 when her mother died. After living on the streets, she sought safety with her older stepsister — but was forced into domestic labor and then sexual exploitation. “It was hard to understand that it didn't happen to me because I was naive or stupid,” said Cruz, now 33. “It happened because there are bad people who sell people. And there are bad people who buy people.”

Many victims don't recognize themselves as victims: perpetrators simulate love, or the family itself has sold them into trafficking from childhood.

Why Tourism Can Enable Trafficking

The explosive growth of Mexico's tourism industry has created new opportunities for criminal networks. Traffickers exploit economic vulnerability in tourist areas. UNODC is urging governments across the region to strengthen coordination and victim identification systems.