{"id":74526,"date":"2019-09-28T00:26:52","date_gmt":"2019-09-28T00:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/county-hosts-human-trafficking-training\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T15:56:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T15:56:59","slug":"county-hosts-human-trafficking-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/county-hosts-human-trafficking-training\/","title":{"rendered":"County hosts human trafficking training"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Montezuma
Montezuma County hosted a human trafficking training on Sept. 24.<\/span>Journal file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Human trafficking might seem like a far-off issue, but it\u2019s a problem even in the Four Corners region.<\/p>\n

Its unexpected prevalence close to home was a key message Kara Napolitano from the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking delivered at a Montezuma County-sponsored training Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n

She honed in on different forms of human trafficking and warning signs for local citizens, organizations and health care providers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to think that human trafficking was a thing that happened \u2018over there,\u2019 wherever \u2018over there\u2019 is,\u201d said Napolitano, who worked and volunteered for nongovernmental agencies in Africa, the Middle East and Asia before focusing her work locally.<\/p>\n

This was the second time in the past few months Napolitano has visited Montezuma County. The training was intended to help inform local entities on what human trafficking is and what it looks like.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to make sure we\u2019re all on the same page,\u201d Napolitano said.<\/p>\n

Defined as \u201ca severe form of exploitation for labor (including sex) through the use of force, fraud, or coercion,\u201d human trafficking was only officially defined by the United Nations in 2000, Napolitano said.<\/p>\n

The \u201cforce, fraud or coercion\u201d element is crucial in identifying human trafficking internationally, but in the United States, an exception is made for those under 18 involved in commercial sex acts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re under the age of 18, you shouldn\u2019t be arrested for it, because you\u2019re identified as a victim,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Labor trafficking is a serious problem globally and closer to home, in Colorado, in occupations including agricultural, hospitality businesses and construction.<\/p>\n

In the northwest part of the state, sheepherding landowners began bringing in indigenous, Quechua-speaking community members from Chile and Peru to work their land in the 1960s and \u201970s, paying them $750 a month for 24\/7 work, she said.<\/p>\n

They were isolated and dependent on landowners for food and water, and many, who did not speak English or Spanish, were ideal targets for exploitation.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t mean trafficking occurs in all sectors of the sheepherding industry, she emphasized.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we\u2019ve had several cases of extreme exploitation and some cases of definite trafficking in that region,\u201d Napolitano said. \u201cThere is an uneven power dynamic there.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are all types of vulnerabilities that could lead someone to be a more susceptible trafficking victim, she said. Language and cultural barriers, poverty, immigration status and age are all factors. Tribal lands can also face their own challenges, including historical oppression, lack of economic opportunity, and even difficulties posed by geographic isolation, such as poor cellphone reception or internet.<\/p>\n

In this region, she is aware of one labor trafficking case that has been prosecuted. But according to local service providers, many other instances of trafficking have not been prosecuted.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur numbers only tell a little drop in the bucket of the story of human trafficking,\u201d Napolitano said. \u201cBecause so many people, B, don\u2019t self-identify as a victim, or B, are afraid to report.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are all types of red flags for trafficking \u2013 although these flags could indicate any number of problems. Warning signs might look like unexplained injuries, malnourishment, frequent pregnancies, paranoia, addiction to drugs or alcohol, and homelessness.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, human traffickers exploit victims by offering them what they don\u2019t have: income, shelter, food, love and acceptance.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are searching out for these vulnerabilities,\u201d Napolitano said. \u201cWe need to be doing better \u2013 much better \u2013 at offering these things to our community members.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colorado has a human trafficking hotline. If you or someone you know needs to report tips, request referrals, or get help, you may call 866-455-5075 or text 720-999-9724.<\/p>\n

ealvero@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nonprofit leader talks Colorado examples, warning signs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":74527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5738,5737,5736,5866,5735,5741],"tags":[21,28,237,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-74526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cortez","category-headlines","category-local-news","category-montezuma-county-government","category-news","category-newsletter","tag-cortez","tag-headlines","tag-montezuma-county-government","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74526"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92415,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74526\/revisions\/92415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74526"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=74526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}