Jamaica remains at Tier 2 on the US Trafficking in Persons Report, marking the country's ninth consecutive year in this position.
It is among eight Caribbean countries in Tier 2, with Guyana among the three listed in Tier 1.
The 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report, produced by the US State Department, says Jamaica does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but is making significant efforts to do so.
The State Department says Jamaica has demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period.
The report says Jamaica's efforts included convicting two traffickers, ordering one of the convicted traffickers to pay restitution, and in contrast to the prior year, sentencing convicted traffickers to punishments that involved significant terms of imprisonment.
Just this month, a 35-year-old taxi driver was charged with child trafficking after abducting and sexually exploiting a 16-year-old girl who was a runaway child.
The report further states that sex traffickers exploit Jamaican individuals in sex trafficking and forced labour abroad, including in other Caribbean countries, Latin America, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, traffickers exploit foreign nationals, including men, women, and children from South and East Asia, Latin America, and other Caribbean countries, in forced labour and sex trafficking in Jamaica.
As for accountability, it says the government slightly increased law enforcement efforts, and although it investigated fewer cases, traffickers were convicted under the trafficking law.
Former Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn, in July, objected to Jamaica's continued ranking at Tier 2, arguing that the US continues to misrepresent Jamaica's efforts.
She argued that in some cases, Jamaica was on par with its Tier 1 counterparts when it comes to prosecutorial efforts for human traffickers.
Among the recommendations of the US are increased efforts to investigate and prosecute traffickers, and adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms.
The US also calls for Jamaica to prevent forced labour among Cuban workers in the country by hiring any Cuban workers directly and using hiring practices that are in line with the domestic and international laws.
The Bahamas, Guyana and Suriname are the only Caribbean countries ranked Tier 1 while Colombia has been booted to Tier 2.
Tier 1 countries are those whose governments fully meet the Trafficking Victims Protection Act's minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.
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