Barbados Stays on Tier 2 Watch List

BARBADOS · HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Barbados remains on the US State Department’s Tier 2 Watch List for human trafficking for a second straight year, according to the 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report, published on Thursday 8 October 2026. The Nation newspaper in Bridgetown covered the Barbados ranking on Sunday 18 October, adding local detail on courts, hotlines and a matching US case.

For US readers the ranking is a signal about the island’s justice system, not a travel warning. The separate US travel advisory for Barbados stays at Level 1, exercise normal precautions, and was last updated on 23 July 2026.

Barbados had been moved down from Tier 2 to the Watch List a year earlier, in the 2025 report covered by Barbados Today on 1 October 2025. Background on the island’s economy and politics is in our guide Barbados Explained: The Island, the Economy, the Republic and What to Watch.

What the Tier 2 Watch List Means

The US law behind the report, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, grades governments on whether they meet minimum standards for fighting trafficking. The Watch List holds countries that do not fully meet those standards but are making significant efforts, as the department defines it.

A country on the Watch List for two consecutive years that would otherwise be placed there again is ranked Tier 3 in the third year instead. The Secretary of State may waive that once, if the government has a written plan amounting to significant efforts and is devoting resources to it.

Barbados has now spent two consecutive years on the list, so on the department’s own description of the rule the 2027 report would put it on Tier 3. It could avoid that by moving back up to Tier 2 or by winning a waiver.

Tier 3 can bring limits on non-humanitarian, non-trade-related US foreign assistance and on official participation in US exchange programmes. The President may also direct US representatives at multilateral development banks and the IMF to vote against loans, and may waive all of these restrictions.

What the 2026 Report Found

The findings cover government action between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026. The department says Barbados “slightly increased” its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts.

Authorities opened six investigations into suspected trafficking, against none in the previous period. They started no prosecutions for a second consecutive year, and Barbados has never secured a conviction under its anti-trafficking law, which Nation News dates to 2016.

The law allows up to 25 years in prison and a fine of up to BDS$1 million (about US$500,000) for trafficking adults. For trafficking children it allows up to life in prison and a fine of up to BDS$2 million (about US$1 million).

The report criticises a provision that allows a fine instead of prison for adult sex trafficking. It says this is not commensurate with penalties for grave crimes such as rape.

Unlike the year before, the government gave anti-trafficking training to law enforcement officials and cooperated with foreign governments on investigations. Nation News adds that the report noted progress on court backlogs, including extra staff and electronic case management.

Trafficking cases still go to the High Court’s eight criminal courts, not to specialised courts, the Nation says. Nation News adds that observers cited limited resources, staff turnover and weak evidence-gathering capacity at the police Sex Crimes and Trafficking Unit.

Victims, Prevention and a US Conviction

The department says Barbados has not identified any trafficking victim since 2021. The government did not report referring victims to care for a second year, and it gave no count of people screened, against 75 in the previous period.

Observers told the department that cases were sometimes closed when victims changed their testimony. Language barriers and victims’ fear of deportation also hampered investigations, the report says.

The government kept an interagency task force, ran public awareness activities and allocated BDS$100,000 (about US$50,000) to prevention. Police and the Ministry of Labour kept hotlines open for tips, as Nation News describes the report.

The previous national action plan expired in 2023, and the report says the government did not report drafting, finalising or putting in place an updated one. It also says there was no anti-trafficking training for diplomatic personnel or troops for a second consecutive year.

The report notes that a Barbadian national was convicted in the United States of sex trafficking and that US authorities lodged a detainer to deport him to Barbados after his sentence. The Suffolk County District Attorney in New York announced a matching case, a 65-year-old man sentenced on 26 September 2025 to a combined 13 to 29 years.

Who the US Report Says Is at Risk

The report says traffickers exploit both domestic and foreign victims in Barbados, and Barbadians abroad. It names migrants, documented and undocumented, as being at high risk.

It cites people entering on tourist visas from Venezuela, Colombia, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic to engage in commercial sex. It also describes forced-labour indicators in Chinese- and Indian-owned businesses and an unknown number of Cuban construction workers who may have been forced to work.

These are the department’s assessments, not findings by a Barbadian court. The sources reviewed name no employer and no individual in these cases.

How Bridgetown Has Responded

In October 2025, after the downgrade, Attorney General Dale Marshall told Barbados Today that the ranking followed US law rather than global measures. He said trafficking is “not a problem for Barbados” because the number of instances that warrant investigation is “quite small”.

He also called specialised trafficking courts “not feasible” and said work had begun under a 2025/26 work plan. The 2026 report still records no prosecutions and no identified victims.

What It Means for You

Visitors should read the ranking as context about law enforcement, not as a sign of risk to tourists. The US advisory calls Barbados generally safe and says petty crime is common in tourist areas.

Firms with recruiters or contractors in Barbados may want to check labour practices, since the report flags weak regulation of labour recruiters. Our guide Barbados Neighbours, Sea Borders, CARICOM and Venezuela sets out the island’s regional ties.

Money amounts in Barbados dollars here use the fixed rate of BDS$2 to US$1, a peg the Central Bank of Barbados says has held since 5 July 1975. Aid and loan restrictions apply only at Tier 3, so the 2027 report is the one to watch.

What Is Not Known

The department’s pages carry a last-updated date of 8 October 2026 and news outlets reported the rankings that day, but the Barbados entry gives no separate release date. No Barbados government response to the 2026 ranking was found in the sources reviewed on Monday 19 October.

It is not known whether Barbados will open prosecutions or identify victims before the next report, or whether a waiver would be sought. The six investigations opened have not been described in the sources reviewed.

The forced-labour indicators in the report are not court findings. The sources do not say how many people are affected.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Tier 2 Watch List mean for Barbados?

It means the US State Department judges that Barbados does not fully meet minimum standards against trafficking but is making significant efforts. Barbados has held that ranking for two consecutive years.

Why is Barbados on the Tier 2 Watch List?

The 2026 report cites no prosecutions for a second year, no conviction ever under the anti-trafficking law and no victim identified since 2021. It also notes that the national action plan expired in 2023.

Could Barbados fall to Tier 3 next year?

On the department’s description of the law, a third year on the Watch List becomes Tier 3 unless the Secretary of State grants a one-time waiver. Barbados could also avoid that by moving up to Tier 2.

Is it safe to travel to Barbados?

The US travel advisory for Barbados is Level 1, exercise normal precautions, and was last updated on 23 July 2026. It names petty crime as the main concern in tourist areas.

When did Barbados join the Watch List?

Barbados was downgraded from Tier 2 to the Watch List in the 2025 report, which Barbados Today covered on 1 October 2025. The 2026 report keeps it there.

Sources: US State Department, 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report, Barbados; US State Department, 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report, tier definitions; Nation News, 18 October 2026; Suffolk County District Attorney, September 2025; Barbados Today, 1 October 2025; Barbados Today, 2 October 2025; US travel advisory for Barbados; Central Bank of Barbados.

Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error

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