PUERTO VALLARTA (PVDN) – In a determined effort to fight against human trafficking, local Representative Claudia Murguía Torres has made combating this heinous crime a top priority. The legislator is well aware that Jalisco occupies one of the first places worldwide in human trafficking, including sexual exploitation, child sexual exploitation, labor exploitation, and illegal adoption management. Puerto Vallarta has been recognized by the UN as a hotbed for child exploitation in the world. Now, in her second legislature, she is taking significant steps to change this grim reality.
Murguía Torres has already succeeded in equating local penalties with federal penalties for human trafficking offenses, but she acknowledges that this alone will not solve the problem. The legislator’s next move is to establish a network of whistleblowers to facilitate reporting and investigation of these crimes.
Jalisco has long been a haven for traffickers and child abusers, and Murguía Torres has had firsthand experience with the issue. “In my first legislature from 2018 to 2021, I saw a disturbing and heartbreaking reality that many of us don’t notice or choose to ignore,” she said in an interview with MILENIO JALISCO. “Jalisco is a paradise for traffickers and child abusers due to the lack of a state prevention policy and a loophole in our penal code that allowed these criminals to go unpunished.” She continued, “You just need to walk along the Puerto Vallarta Malecon to realize the trafficking and child sexual abuse being committed.”
Murguía Torres recalls the struggle to reform the penal code, which took two years and intense lobbying of other parliamentary factions. Finally, the reform was successful, and now judges have the legal tool to impose sentences of up to 30 or even 40 years for trafficking-related crimes.
Despite these advances, Murguía Torres recognizes that the reform “will not eradicate trafficking.” In response, she is working on implementing a trafficking alert network for authorities to investigate cases. The legislator highlighted the need for an effective prevention instrument and criticized the current state prevention network as ineffective.
“We are creating a legal instrument that can generate a prevention tool that involves all sectors that are part of the traffickers’ modus operandi,” Murguía Torres explained. “Restaurants, hotels, mobility systems, digital platforms—all these sectors would be involved, as they may be aware or unaware of the economic benefits they receive from human trafficking.”
As she continues her work, Murguía Torres stresses that this issue is not only a priority for her but should be for everyone. She points out that human trafficking is a global problem that deprives millions of their dignity and subjects them to daily exploitation. It is crucial for public servants to use their platforms to address and combat this crime.
Murguía Torres concludes by emphasizing the urgency of the situation, “There is nothing more atrocious than modern slavery today, which is human trafficking. It’s time for the State to take guardianship and work on crime prevention and security.”
PUERTO VALLARTA (PVDN) - In a determined effort to fight against human trafficking, local Representative Claudia Murguía Torres has made combating this heinous crime . . .
