Ambassador
Ambassador Event
AMBASSADOR WAYNE ANNOUNCES GRANT TO MARIA DE LOS ANGELES FOUNDATION TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING
June 3, 2009
Ambassador Wayne announced on June 3 that the US Government will provide a USD 67,000 grant to the Maria de los Angeles Foundation, established by anti-trafficking activist Susana Trimarco, winner of the U.S. Department of State’s 2007 International Woman of Courage Award.
The Foundation will use these funds to create and train specialized police units to investigate trafficking in persons crimes in provinces that have been identified as high risk. These specialized units will be modeled after a similar anti-trafficking police unit Ms. Trimarco helped establish in the province of Tucuman in 2007.
“The fight of Susana Trimarco who channeled the profound grief inflicted by the kidnapping and disappearance of her daughter Marita into a vocation of serving others must be an inspiration to all of us and her example remind us to never give up in the face of adversity and to unite in the global fight to put an end to these terrible scourges that afflict humanity,”
After the announcement, Ms. Trimarco thanked the Ambassador for his and the U.S. Government’s support of her efforts to find her missing daughter, Marita Veron, and her daily struggle to rescue trafficking victims from the criminals that exploit them.
Following the presentation, Cordoba’s Attorney General Dario Vezarro presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Ambassador Wayne for his efforts to develop Argentine local capacity to fight this modern form of slavery.
About the Foundation
The Maria de los Angeles Foundation was established in October 2007 by Susana Trimarco, in honor of her daughter, Marita Veron, who was kidnapped by a human trafficking ring on April 3, 2002 in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina when she was 23 years old. Since then, Trimarco has dedicated herself to exposing the traffickers who kidnapped her daughter.
Trimarco’s efforts have resulted in the rescue of hundreds of trafficking victims in Argentina and Spain. Thanks to her life-saving work, human trafficking is now gaining public and government attention in Argentina, and victims of forced labor and human trafficking are being encouraged to report the crime.
In 2007, Trimarco was recognized by the U.S. Department of State as one of 12 International Women of Courage and as a Hero in the global fight against human trafficking.
More information about the Maria de los Angeles Foundation
