After drug trafficking, human trafficking in México is the illicit activity that generates the most money for criminal groups, according to a high-ranked official of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

“It gives organized crime more revenue than human smuggling and gun trafficking,” said Mariana Alegret Cendejas, regional officer of International Cooperation of the UNODC, at a conference designed to prevent and combat human trafficking.

Considered a form of modern slavery, human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain some type of labor, involuntary servitude or commercial sex. It differs from human smuggling, which centers on the illegal importation of people into a country, officials said.

Mexican and U.S. officials, as well as representatives from area organizations, gathered in Juárez last week to learn about human trafficking and share information on how to fight it. The week-long conference was organized by the Inter-institutional Committee against Human Trafficking, which comprises representatives from the three levels of government and nonprofit groups.

Human trafficking generates more than $2.4 billion in revenues worldwide, Alegret Cendejas said, citing findings from the Global Report on Trafficking in Person 2014, the most recent report the UNODC has published. The report, released every two years, is based on the findings of 128 countries, including Mexico.

Read More: El Paso Times

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