People smuggling

The booming business for smuggling people to the US: 'Everyone wins' 

It’s only 7.30am but Daniel is already looking stressed. Every few minutes his mobile buzzes and he steps out of earshot to take another call from a client.

A shipment is being dispatched tomorrow, and he is still learning the basics of logistics. “The business responds to the market, and right now, the boss says the market is families,” he says.

Daniel’s trade is people-smuggling, and business is booming: in the morning, 40 customers will head north, and he still has to make sure the bus is ready, the bribes are paid and the fake documents in order.

Migration to the US from Guatemala and neighboring Honduras has risen to its highest level in a decade: if current rates continue, about 1% of the two countries’ populations will have reached the US by the end of the year.