Sex trafficking-linked sex tourism continues to persist as a persistent criminal challenge on the island of Tobago, according to senior officials from Trinidad and Tobago’s Counter Trafficking Unit (CTU), a division of the country’s Ministry of Homeland Security. Deputy CTU Director Dane-Marie Marshall made the revelation publicly on Wednesday during an event to launch a new public awareness billboard along Tobago’s Claude Noel Highway in Shirvan, highlighting that the small Caribbean island accounts for 2 to 3 percent of all reported human trafficking cases across the twin-island nation.
Marshall emphasized that the risks of exploitation spike sharply during peak tourism seasons and periods of major scheduled events, when the island sees a surge in foreign visitor arrivals. Intelligence gathered by the unit confirms that this uptick in tourism often correlates with increased movement of vulnerable women and girls to Tobago, including migrant women who are lured to the island through deceptive recruitment tactics. Many exploited victims first targeted in Trinidad are subsequently trafficked across to Tobago to engage in commercial sexual exploitation, a pattern that CTU officials have vowed to dismantle entirely.
“Two, 3% of cases are reported from Tobago, but we also know that girls exploited in Trinidad are being trafficked over here, and we will not tolerate that activity,” Marshall stated during the event. “The Counter Trafficking Unit will pursue perpetrators anywhere across both islands — we will find you, and we will hold you accountable for these crimes.”
The public awareness campaign, headlined by the new billboard with the slogan “Don’t Buy Sex, It Could Cost You Everything”, is part of a broader CTU push to engage local communities, law enforcement partners, and tourism stakeholders in the fight against trafficking. Marshall stressed that coordinated collaboration between all relevant groups is critical to identifying at-risk individuals, interrupting trafficking networks, and encouraging the public to report any suspicious activity they observe. Members of the public can submit tips to the CTU via a toll-free hotline (800-4CTU / 800-4288) or a dedicated WhatsApp line at 702-0467.
The billboard launch came just days after the CTU concluded a large-scale targeted anti-trafficking operation codenamed Operation Iceberg, carried out across multiple communities in Tobago including Signal Hill and Bon Accord, as well as locations in Trinidad. The weekend operation led to the rescue of multiple women confirmed to be victims of sex trafficking, the arrest of multiple suspected traffickers, and the execution of three preventative detention orders under the 2026 Emergency Powers Regulations.
Marshall also noted that Tobago’s large inventory of tourist accommodation creates an environment that bad actors can exploit to facilitate sex trafficking, a vulnerability the CTU is actively working to address. The unit has received consistent support from the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. government in its anti-trafficking efforts, and is currently working to upgrade the country’s ranking in the U.S. Department of State’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report. Currently ranked at Tier 2, which acknowledges progress in combating human trafficking, the government’s ultimate goal is to reach Tier 1 — the highest ranking, reserved for countries that fully meet all international minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking.