The Tribune

LUIS E Arreaga, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State (DAS) for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is scheduled to visit the Bahamas today to hold high-level talks with senior Bahamian government officials on counter-narcotics issues.

While in Nassau, Mr Arreaga who is responsible for the State Department’s programmes on combating illicit drug and organised crime, as well as support for law enforcement and rule of law in the Western Hemisphere, will reportedly engage senior government officials on “matters of mutual interest”.

DAS Arreaga will also attend a presentation by the representatives from the National LEAD Institute that will focus on “Rehabilitation and Welfare Service Effort in Correctional Facilities.” The event is a follow-up to a corrections-focused study tour sponsored by the Embassy’s INL section held in North Carolina in January, 2014.

The tour gave 16 Bahamian government and civil society representatives an opportunity to explore best practices and alternative approaches in rehabilitative services with the aim of creating more collaborative and coordinated approach to corrections in the Bahamas. The event will be held at the American Corner in the Harry C Moore Library, at the College of The Bahamas at 3.45 pm today.

On Wednesday, February 26, DAS Arreaga and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell will participate in an Amended Letter of Agreement signing ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This signing will represent the United States government’s commitment to provide additional resources to the Bahamian government totalling more than $1,850,000 to reduce illicit trafficking, increase public safety and security, and promote social justice.

Prior to his appointment as Deputy Assistant Secretary, Mr Arreaga served as the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Iceland from 2010 until 2013.

Ambassador Arreaga is a career member of the Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor. Before his nomination as Ambassador to the Republic of Iceland, he led State Department efforts to recruit and hire the largest increase in Foreign Service personnel in the US State Department history.

He previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States Embassy in Panama, US Consul General in Vancouver, Canada and as director of the Executive Secretariat Staff at the US Department of State in Washington, DC. Luis Arreaga was born and raised in Guatemala before immigrating to the United States. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee where he received a PhD in economics and a Masters Degree in Management.