The Tijuana investigations began in December, when a U.S. Some are kidnapped, she said.Ĭhild sex trafficking has long been known to be a problem in Tijuana, but there is no official data suggesting just how prolific it is. Some are orphans, unaccompanied minor immigrants or sold by their parents. Many of the children are brought up from other areas of Mexico, Ugarte said. “It’s as easy as going on the internet and the dark web to get what you want,” said Marisa Ugarte, a former Tijuana social worker and founder of Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition, a National City-based service organization for victims of sex-trafficking. Young children are offered more covertly, authorities say. Prostitution has long been tolerated in Tijuana’s La Zona Norte, where customers - many of them Americans - easily find commercial sex on the street or in established brothels.
