Yuma Sheriff: ‘Cartel at fault for sexual abuse of female migrants’
A national non-profit report shows that one-third of female migrants are victims of sexual abuse while attempting to enter the United States. The sexual abuse comes at the hands of drug cartels, according to the Yuma County Sheriff.
From 2015 to 2016, Doctors Without Borders surveyed 467 random migrants making their way through Mexico towards the United States. The report showed that nearly one-third of women surveyed had been sexually abused during their journey.
Some of the cases reported are tied to the drug cartels, according to Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot.
“What we are seeing now too is the sex trade that goes along with this, so the children being exploited, the women being exploited before they get across the border for sex and being raped,” Wilmot said. “We are dealing with a bunch of different issues that we in this community have to handle.”
The cartels are charging anywhere from $6,000 to $7,000 to smuggle just one person into the United States, Wilmot said.
“They have to pay that debt to the cartel. That means doing whatever they want,” Wilmot said. “Whether it is sexual exploitation of the juveniles that are with them or having them facilitate their criminal activity.”
The report also shows that almost 70 percent of migrants crossing through Mexico to enter the United States are victims of violence during their journey.
President Donald Trump addressed the nation Tuesday night for the first time from the Oval Office. In his speech, he said one in three women fall victim to sexual abuse while trying to enter the United States.
