The Bahamas will today welcome Luis CdeBaca, United States ambassador at large in the Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell last week reported in the House of Assembly that a new US ambassador would be arriving in the country on August 13; however, Ambassador CdeBaca will only be making a visit to the country in his capacity as the man tasked with combating trafficking in persons.
Ambassador CdeBaca will also appear as a guest on JCN’s talk show, The Platform with host Wendall Jones today.
US President Barack Obama appointed Ambassador CdeBaca in May 2009 to coordinate U.S. government activities in the global fight against contemporary forms of slavery.
He currently serves as senior advisor to the secretary and directs the state department’s office to monitor and combat trafficking in persons, which assesses global trends, provides training and technical assistance, and advocates for an end to modern slavery.
Mr. CdeBaca formerly served as counsel to the house committee on the judiciary, where his portfolio for Chairman John Conyers Jr. included national security, intelligence, immigration, civil rights and modern slavery issues.
Mr. CdeBaca is touted as one of the most-decorated federal prosecutors, leading the investigation and prosecution of cases involving money laundering, organised crime, alien smuggling, official misconduct, hate crimes and human trafficking.
He was honoured with the attorney general’s Distinguished Service Award for his service as lead trial counsel in the then largest slavery prosecution in U.S. history, which involved the enslavement of over 300 Vietnamese and Chinese workers in a garment factory in American Samoa.
Additionally, he received the department’s highest litigation honour – the attorney general’s John Marshall Award – and the Director’s Award from the executive office of United States Attorneys.
The ambassador’s honours don’t stop there as he has also received the leading honour given by the national trafficking victim service provider community, the Freedom Network’s Paul & Sheila Wellstone Award, and has been named the Michigan Law School’s Distinguished Latino Alumnus.
He has convicted dozens of abusive pimps and employers and helped to liberate hundreds of victims from servitude.
