Yanira Violeta Olivares Pineda

Yanira Violeta Olivares Pineda is the head of the national Specialized Trafficking in Persons Unit in San Salvador, where she leads a team of prosecutors dedicated to holding human traffickers accountable and delivering justice to victims.

Ms. Olivares Pineda has been a central and fearless figure in elevating human trafficking as a priority issue for the Salvadoran government and strengthening its efforts to combat this crime. Under her exemplary leadership, the Unit has overcome resource constraints to maintain constant pressure on traffickers. Ms. Olivares Pineda personally opened more than 143 cases involving 174 victims, securing more than 30 convictions with punishments ranging from four to 20 years in prison.

In her role, Ms. Olivares Pineda has been a strong partner of the U.S. government, establishing procedures for information and intelligence sharing with U.S. law enforcement on trafficking investigations that have resulted in the identification of traffickers in both the United States and El Salvador, the seizure of their assets, and an increase in the number of traffickers extradited from the United States to El Salvador.