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58-409: Nouadhibou is a major hotspot for migrant smuggling , serving as a key departure point for those attempting to reach Europe. The city consists of four major areas: the city center, including the international airport ; Numerowatt to the north; Cansado , the main residential area, to the south; and a dormitory town for the workers of the harbor facilities which are located a few kilometers south of

116-564: A seasonal lag in the warmer months. The average annual temperature in the city is 21.3 °C (70.3 °F) and the average annual high temperature is 27.1 °C (80.8 °F). Nouadhibou is linked with the Coastal Motorway RN2 to the capital Nouakchott (a distance of 450 km (280 mi)) and by highway to the Western Saharan border in the north (a distance of 70 km (43 mi)). Nouadhibou also

174-546: A broad range of protective measures, while the Smuggling Protocol contains minimal reference to protections for smuggled persons). More specifically, below are three main technical differences between smuggling and trafficking, which are as follows: The recognition of trafficked persons as "victims" but smuggled migrants as "objects" of a process is a principal point of difference between how international law treats trafficked and smuggled migrants. Nonetheless, it

232-558: A category of actors playing a specific part in the global migration process, are directly manufactured by the migration policies". Other proposals include focusing not on banning or trying to stifle the smuggling industry, but on undercutting it. Michael Jandl from the International Center for Migration Policy Development, an intergovernmental think-tank based in Vienna, has suggested that governments issue temporary visas in

290-445: A clear solution because of pre-existing factors that are themselves highly resistant to change – in this case the very existence of States, gross inequalities among them, and strong motivations on the part of some to keep them out." Because every state has different economics and governments, this problem cannot be universally defined, and this makes it more difficult for law enforcement to stop smuggling of people, as they have to adapt to

348-549: A decade ago, as demand for smuggling services continues to rise, operations become more complex, and costs of smuggling individuals become higher. People smuggling – specifically migrant smuggling – constitutes criminal conduct. However, criminal elements of smuggling may reach beyond the sphere of human smuggling. In a testimony before Congress, William D. Cadman – INS counterterrorism coordinator – stated, "Organized crime syndicates...are known to use alien-smuggling operations to support and further their criminal objectives". Given

406-619: A low level and some at the kingpin level". (In fact, as the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States from Mexico has become more organized, there has opened an opportunity for smuggling groups within Mexico to market their services to non-Mexicans. Indeed, smuggling operations are often complex and smuggled persons often make stops at countries across the globe before arriving at their final destination.) A Lebanese-Mexican Symbiotic smuggling network involved in human smuggling into

464-409: A more central role in the business of people smuggling and often exploit individuals – seen as human cargo – and using them by loading them up with backpacks full of marijuana. Sometimes, the costs of the expensive journey may be defrayed as migrants serve as "mules", carrying drugs out of Mexico. The questions of whether smuggling groups or syndicates would smuggle two different types of contraband at

522-420: A one-to-one basis. In the business of people smuggling, there is no single "godfather" figure who commands the activities of subordinates; rather, individuals conduct business on equal grounds and tend to consider themselves free agents. In fact, according to a Los Angeles-based smuggler, "The division of labor is really clear and refined. Everyone involved is useful in his own way and does his own thing only. There

580-528: A state party of which the person is not a national". The practice of people smuggling has seen a rise over the past few decades and now accounts for a significant portion of illegal immigration in countries around the world. People smuggling generally takes place with the consent of the person or persons being smuggled, and common reasons for individuals seeking to be smuggled include employment and economic opportunity, personal and/or familial betterment, and escape from persecution, violence or conflict. In 2015,

638-604: Is connected by railway to the iron mines in Zouérat , 670 km to the east. The freight trains can be as long as 3 km, reputedly the longest in the world. The railway also carries passengers and calls at Choum . The city is served by the Nouadhibou Airport . Plans were drawn up at the beginning of 1963 to build a port called Port Wharf in the fishing harbour, which included the construction of industrial and trade buildings. This became operational in 1966. This wharf

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696-533: Is connected to the port of Nouadhibou by the Mauritania Railway . Freight trains that transport the iron ore to the coast can be as long as 2.5 km (1.6 mi) in length. The line is also used to bring in all the town's drinking water from Boulenoir . Tazadit Airport is served by regular flights from/to Nouadhibou and seasonally from/to Casablanca using Mauritania Airlines International Boeing 737-500 and Boeing 737-700 planes. Outside

754-494: Is important to recognise that in reality and in law, smuggled migrants can still be victims of crime – whether this is theft, fraud, sexual assault, deprivation of liberty or even human trafficking. Sometimes there is a gender dimension to the distinction between smuggling and trafficking: those who are smuggled are often assumed to be mostly men, whereas victims of trafficking are more commonly assumed to be women and children. With smugglers operating from numerous countries across

812-444: Is no leadership in any smuggling rings. Leadership will not emerge because the work involved is so specialized". According to Frontex , people smugglers give detailed descriptions of benefits of individual EU countries so they can compare the available benefits of for instance Sweden , Denmark and Germany before applying for asylum. A concerted international focus on defining and responding to migrant smuggling only occurred in

870-612: Is reputedly also a center of trading of meteorites found in the Sahara . Nouadhibou features a hot desert climate ( BWh ) under the Köppen climate classification . The city sees virtually no rainfall during the course of the year averaging a paltry 18 millimetres (0.71 in) annually. Despite the fact that it features a hot desert climate, the area does not quite see the extreme temperatures that other areas with this climate feature because of strong maritime influences, which also causes

928-507: Is scattered and incomplete. As such, verifiable or even reliable figures are difficult, if not impossible to come by, and the data on the number of smuggled individuals is tenuous at best. However, as of 2005, it was estimated that upwards of 350,000 illegal immigrants are smuggled across America's border from Mexico each year, and as many as 800,000 enter the European Union. Smugglers' fees vary from destination to destination, but on

986-490: Is that between human smuggling and human trafficking. Given the complex nature of human smuggling and trafficking operations, the difference between these two criminal operations is not always readily apparent. Delineating between the two involves taking closer look at the subtle differences between each. Generally speaking, human trafficking involves transporting individuals from one place to another either against their will or under some sort of false pretense. With smuggling, on

1044-403: Is that they are all on a quest for a better life. People smuggling operations range from small to large-scale actors operating in a transnational market. Small-scale smugglers generally arrange all aspects of the smuggling operations themselves. However, more commonly, smugglers engage and do business within a larger smuggling network where there is a division of work among the actors involved. In

1102-683: The Canary Islands . This extremely dangerous route to reach the European Union gained popularity due to heightened emigration controls along Morocco's coast and near the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in late 2005. As of 2024, the city remains a significant departure hub for irregular migrants to Europe, with over 80% of arrivals in the Canary Islands originating from Mauritania, many of whom are from Mali . The city

1160-683: The Mexico–United States and Bolivia–Chile borders. Another term used for minors who smuggle people across the Mexico–United States border is " polleros ". Once dominated by local smugglers charging relatively small sums, the business landscape has changed as larger, well-organized syndicates have entered the smuggling industry in Mexico. Over the years, Coyotes have become more sophisticated in their operations, as technological advances have allowed them to streamline and add further complexity to their business. Virtually every country in

1218-525: The 1990s. This focus followed sharp rises in irregular migration to the United States, and to Europe in the 1980s and 1990s. A focus on those who facilitate irregular migration – rather than migrants themselves – was seen as a critical element of any response. The resulting legal framework was the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air (Migrant Smuggling Protocol), that supplements

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1276-437: The 2018–19 season: FC Nouadhibou and ASC Snim . People smuggling People smuggling (also called human smuggling ), under U.S. law, is "the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries' laws, either clandestinely or through deception, such as the use of fraudulent documents". Internationally,

1334-467: The United States and Mexico is a booming business that, as of 2003, garnered over $ 5 billion a year. Similarly, in the EU, profits from people smuggling operations is estimated to be around €4 billion per year. People smuggling is a dangerous operation and has frequently resulted in the death of those individuals being smuggled. In 2004, 464 recorded deaths took place during the crossing from Mexico to

1392-538: The United States of America that came to the attention of law enforcement and counterintelligence has been described in the literature. Over the years, smuggling has evolved into a sophisticated service industry, with certain routes and enclaves used by smugglers becoming practically institutionalized; for example: from Mexico and Central America to the United States, from West Asia through Greece and Turkey to Western Europe, and within East and Southeast Asia. Responsible for

1450-506: The United States, and each year, an estimated 2000 people drown in the Mediterranean on the journey from Africa into Europe. On 14 September 2018, US media reported that Jacklyn, a seven-year-old girl from Guatemala , had died while in custody of US Customs. The girl's family denied she did not have enough food to eat before she died. Because of the clandestine nature of people smuggling operations, information currently available

1508-514: The area. Nouadhibou has long been an important transit point for international transport. In the beginning of the 20th century, it was a stopover for the Latécoère air-transport network for mail and passengers for western Africa and overseas colonies like Martinique . Antoine de Saint-Exupery spent much time there as a pilot and as writer. Near the harbor is the terminus of Mauritania's only railway line , which mainly brings iron ore from

1566-517: The capital of the Tiris Zemmour region , with an approximate population of 62,380 (2023). It lies at the eastern end of the Mauritania Railway to Nouadhibou . The town developed from its importance to iron ore mining. It is surrounded by the hematite mines of Fderîck , Tazadit and Rouessa. The town houses the regional administration and military for Tiris Zemmour. Most of the town's population are employed directly and indirectly in

1624-723: The city, near the tip of the Ras Nouadhibou peninsula, at Port Minéralier . Attractions in Nouadhibou include the Table Remarquable , several markets, a ships' graveyard and Mediterranean monk seals . The port of Nouadhibou is the final resting place of over 300 scuttled ships, forming the world’s largest ship graveyard. Unlike the arrival en masse of ships at Mallows Bay , here the number of craft has built up over time, as corrupt officials accepted bribes from boat owners to allow them to dump their vessels in

1682-547: The clandestine but booming nature of people smuggling operations – especially in places like Mexico – drug cartels have also begun tapping into the smuggling network. Cartels have made money not only by taxing Coyotes but also directly engaging in the business of smuggling. In the late 1990s, Mexican drug cartels began initially moving into people smuggling by taxing Coyotes for leading bands of smuggled people across cartel-controlled territory. As these drug cartels have gotten more directly involved, however, they are beginning to play

1740-461: The conditions in different states. Many individuals who consent to being smuggled are escaping poverty and hardship, seeking opportunities and better conditions abroad, or escaping natural disaster, conflict, or persecution. Others may be seeking asylum . While many who are smuggled are poor and uneducated, there are also others who belong to the educated middle class. As such, perhaps the only generalization that can be made about smuggled individuals

1798-685: The dangerous and clandestine criminal nature of people smuggling operations, smuggled persons are sometimes at risk of becoming victims of other crimes. Aside from subjection to unsafe conditions in their journeys to their destinations, smuggled individuals may also be subject to physical or sexual abuse or placed in hostage-like conditions until their debts are paid off. Others might face exploitation or be forced to participate in other criminal activities during their journey as smuggled individuals. Because smuggling can generate substantial profits for those involved, which in turn can fuel corruption and organized crime in countries traveled from, through, or to during

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1856-453: The dichotomy of coercion and consent: whereas people who are trafficked are considered "victims" or "survivors", individuals who are smuggled are seen as having engaged willingly in an enterprise that one or both of the bordering countries consider illegal. (This dichotomous framework is particularly evident in the protections afforded for each group. The Trafficking Protocol addresses the need for protection of trafficked persons and provides for

1914-505: The fact that the lines of emigrants sneaking under borders is said to look like a snake.) Operating in an extensive transnational black market, Snakeheads reap considerable profits from their smuggling operations and both are regarded and consider themselves not as criminals but as resourceful guides. The earliest snakeheads went into business around the 1970s ferrying customers from Fuzhou or Changle into Hong Kong. Today, Snakehead operations have expanded enormously into other countries; however,

1972-451: The flourishing business of people smuggling are a combination of interacting factors, from weak legislation and lax border controls to corrupt officials and the power of organized crime. The complexity of the smuggling network is dependent upon the route to be taken and the nature of the journey. For routes that are well-known and tested, smugglers may function more as family enterprises and utilize fairly contained operations. The more complex

2030-523: The globe, there are myriad minor and major players within the people smuggling scene. Of wide and notable repute, however, are the Snakeheads and Coyotes, which operate in the business of smuggling Chinese and Mexican migrants, respectively. The name "Snakehead" refers to those underground players who operate in facilitating the illicit transport of Chinese migrants into countries like the United States and other Western countries. (The name originates from

2088-425: The hands of smugglers. People involved in smuggling operations may also be victims of trafficking, for example when they are tricked about the terms and conditions of their role for the purpose of exploiting their labour in the operation. Smuggling operations are complex, working within networks of many individual players. As smuggling operations and its underlying infrastructure becomes increasingly intricate, so do

2146-416: The issues surrounding the matter of people smuggling. With major and minor players spanning the globe, people smuggling poses a significant economic and legal impact on society, and solutions to the problem of people smuggling remain contested and under continued debate and development. Smuggling has been described as the classic " wicked problem : one that is hard to define, keeps changing, and does not present

2204-634: The majority of Snakehead customers still originate from the Fujian province in China. One of the most notable Snakeheads was Sister Ping , who ran a successful and extensive smuggling operation in New York from 1984 to 2000, when she was finally caught by authorities following the disaster involving the Golden Venture . "Coyotes" is the name for smugglers who facilitate the migration of people across

2262-599: The mining areas near Fdérik and Zouérat , which are located up to 704 kilometres (437 mi) inland. Processing iron ore forms the largest industry in Nouadhibou, although the overall major economic activity is fishing. The town was established as a small fishing port, controlled by the Portuguese, the Dutch and finally the French. In 1907 by decree of the governor-general of French West Africa Ernest Roume , it

2320-411: The mining industry. A sizeable number of foreign workers from other African countries live in the town. Amenities include a medical clinic, social club, pool, school and shop. Since 2006, a shanty town has grown around the town. In response authorities have begun construction of a wall, nicknamed locally as the " mur de la honte " (wall of shame), to separate the two areas. Mining at the mountain

2378-794: The ongoing civil war in Syria has led to massive displacement and reliance on people smugglers to assist people to seek sanctuary in Europe . This has also led to unprecedented movements – and deaths – across the Mediterranean . According to UNHCR statistics, there have been almost one million arrivals by sea in Europe in 2015, and more than 2900 dead or missing migrants. According to the IOM Missing Migrants Project, there have been more than 3800 deaths during migration around

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2436-526: The organizations behind the business of people smuggling. According to the UNODC , "[t]ackling migrant smuggling necessitates a comprehensive, multi-dimensional response, which begins with addressing the socio-economic root causes of irregular migration to prevent it, and goes through to prosecution of criminals who commit smuggling-related crimes". At the same time, scientific studies on the counterproductive aspects of security policies have shown "how smugglers, as

2494-611: The other hand, there is understood to be an agreement between smuggler and customer, a meeting of the minds and a contract between the two. These differences can similarly be detected in the Trafficking and Smuggling Protocols (more commonly known as the Palermo Protocols) passed by the UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime. The Palermo Protocols frame the difference between smuggling and trafficking around

2552-495: The parent instrument, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The Migrant Smuggling Protocol does not provide a complete or self-contained legal regime. It exists as part of a "dense web of rights, obligations and responsibilities drawn not just from the Protocol and Convention but also from the law of the sea, human rights law, and refugee law". An important distinction to make

2610-496: The past, smuggling rings tended to be more obscure, amateurish, and limited. As people smuggling has continued to grow, however, smuggling rings are far more extensive and organized. In Mexico, as Jim Chaparro – head of the anti-smuggling office at the US Immigration and Naturalization Service – puts it, the once small and informal smuggling business has evolved into a powerful web of "literally hundreds of syndicates, some at

2668-519: The route, however, the more members of the smuggling network must be recruited. In general, the infrastructure of the people smuggling business is nontraditional, with no clearly identifiable organization and no rigid structure. The network of smugglers is diffused and decentralized. Smugglers form temporary business alliances, and the organization of smugglers can best be understood and described as ad hoc task forces, in which activities are specialized and controlled by individuals that deal with each other on

2726-647: The same time (Multiple Consignment Contraband) (MCC) has been debated within and between law enforcement and intelligence analysts. Furthermore, if this type of smuggling is occurring, which types of MCC are most likely to be bundled together and which type of smuggling group (defined by level of sophistication) would engage in MCC and which regions in the world are most likely to be confronted with MCC also has been discussed by these analysts. The Lichtenwald, Perri and MacKenzie article identified sixteen cases of different smuggling groups smuggling more than one type of contraband at

2784-405: The same time. Four of the sixteen cases involved MCC human and drug smuggling. Three of the four MCC human and drug smuggling organizations were targeting the United States of America. Thus far, global efforts to curb and stymie the growing tide of smuggled individuals have been largely focused on the apprehension and deportation of individual migrants. Little has been done in the way of dismantling

2842-412: The smugglers' best markets at fees priced to compete with the smugglers' rates. Under this proposed plan, one-third of the visa fee could be returned to immigrants upon their departure, and opportunities to purchase additional visas in the future would be available for those who did not break any rules. Zou%C3%A9rat Zouérat ( Arabic : الزويرات ) is the largest town in northern Mauritania and

2900-497: The smuggling process. Countries that have ratified the Migrant Smuggling Protocol are obligated to ensure migrant smuggling offences are criminal in their national laws. The UN has produced a Model Law that sets out minimum and recommended provisions for national laws on migrant smuggling. This includes model criminal offence provisions (see further, UNODC, Model Law against the Smuggling of Migrants). Given

2958-535: The term is understood as and often used interchangeably with migrant smuggling , which is defined in the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air , supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime as "...the procurement, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of the illegal entry of a person into

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3016-421: The whole, they have risen dramatically over the years. The prices paid to human smugglers by immigrants vary depending on the geographic location. For border crossings such as from Mexico into the United States, human smugglers can charge up to $ 4,000, while trans-Pacific crossings of, for example, Chinese immigrants into the United States can cost up to $ 75,000. These prices are significantly steeper than they were

3074-457: The world in 2015. Unlike human trafficking , people smuggling is characterized by the consent between customer and smuggler – a contractual agreement that typically terminates upon arrival in the destination location. However, smuggling situations can nonetheless in reality descend into situations that can best be described as extreme human rights abuses, with smuggled migrants subject to threats, abuse, exploitation and torture, and even death at

3132-427: The world is affected by people smuggling, be it in the capacity of country of origin, transit, or destination. While reliable data is scarce, experts note that "current estimates place the number of irregular migrants worldwide at up to thirty million and that a substantial proportion of these persons can be expected to have used the services of smugglers at one or more points in their journey". People smuggling between

3190-501: Was designed to accommodate traffic of up to 50,000 tonnes. In 1977, the wharf was lengthened to provide 3 extra berths for ships of average tonnage raising its capacity to 320,000 tonnes. The Nouadhibou Regional Hospital was opened in 2017 after a build time of five years and is the largest hospital in the region. Two football clubs based in Nouadhibou participate in the Mauritanian Premier League as of

3248-451: Was first recorded from the Kediet ej Jill in the 11th century, but it was not until 1952 that iron ore deposits were first commercially extracted on an industrial scale. Beginning in 1958, the first concessions on iron ore extraction were given to Miferma, Société des mines de fer de Mauritanie. At the time it was majority-controlled by European-based mining interests, however, in 1974 Miferma

3306-584: Was nationalized by the Mauritanian government . In 1981 a new iron ore deposit was discovered at Guelb el Rhein, 35 km (22 mi) north of Zouérat. Almost a decade later, another was found in 1990 at Guelb Mhadaouat about 65 km (40 mi) from Zouérat. Other companies exploring for iron ore in the region include Xstrata and Arcelor Mittal . The reserves at the SNIM 's Tazadit mine are estimated to be 200 million tonnes of hematite . Zouérat

3364-507: Was renamed Port-Étienne after the former French Minister of the Colonies Eugène Étienne . After Mauritania became independent in 1960, the town name changed to Nouadhibou. On 30 June 1973, at the time of the second-longest solar eclipse in the 20th century, an Aerobee rocket was launched at Nouadhibou for solar research. Since February 2006, Nouadhibou has emerged as a major departure point for African migrants aiming to reach

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