With our sights set on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, The United Nations (UN) and various civil organizations raised alarm bells in Mexico by presenting the “World Traffic Free” campaign. The objective is to shield the country against a crime that, as they warned, is usually camouflaged among the euphoria of mega sporting events and of which ninety nine% of the cases in that country go unnoticed.
The initiative, promoted by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in alliance with the SINTRATA organization and the Citizen Council for Security and Justice of Mexico City (CDMX), seeks to turn application drivers, receptionists and airport inner most into the first line of defense against exploitation.
“Mega sporting events generate conditions that trafficking networks very unfortunately take advantage of,” warned Nayely Sánchez, head of UNODC programs in Mexico. The strategy relies on the surveillance of “key citizens” who, due to their job, are in direct contact with the migratory and tourist flows that will intensify in June and July.
A network of “millions of eyes” in the headquarters
The protocol establishes specific guidelines to identify support watch over patterns, such as people who cannot speak for themselves, who have their documents withheld by third parties, or who show signs of forced debts. To channel these alerts, the National Hotline against Human Trafficking (800 55 33 000) has been enabled, a channel that guarantees anonymity and offers judicial support.
The host cities: Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey, have been classified as “red lights” due to the high mobility that the 13 matches scheduled in national territory will attract.. “If millions of people are going to move during the World Cup, millions of eyes can also help us prevent this crime,” said Gabriela González García, Director of Citizen Assistance of the Citizen Council.
Companies like Uber have formally joined the project, integrating their nearly 300,000 drivers in Mexico as trained observers. Diego Martínez, director of public policies for the platform, stressed that the technology will serve as a bridge to promote safe reporting in risk situations that would otherwise remain in the shadows.
Sexual exploitation: the threat to women and minors
The statistics presented are conclusive: 70% of trafficking victims in Mexico are women, and sexual exploitation accounts for more than half of the reported cases. Mariana Ruenes, president of SINTRATA, highlighted that women and girls are the historically most vulnerable populations due to the increase in mass tourism derived from FIFA.
Added to this is the sophistication of the traffickers. Recent reports indicate that forty five% of victims are initially recruited through social networks such as Facebook or Instagram, and even through video games like Roblox. This “digital capture” is intertwined with transnational networks that deceive migrants from Central and South America with false promises of regularization.
With this campaign, Mexico seeks to ensure that the legacy of the World Cup is not only sporting, but also structural in terms of human protection.. The authorities and civil allies agreed on a message of “zero tolerance” towards exploitation, urging citizens not to be complicit in silence and to use reporting tools before the tournament’s opening whistle begins.
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