New York, NY – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced a strategic partnership with Venezuelans and Immigrants AID (VIA) to promote the Blue Campaign, a national public awareness campaign designed to educate the public, law enforcement, and other industry partners on recognizing and responding to indicators of human trafficking.

This initiative works closely with various DHS components to develop general awareness trainings and specific educational resources to reduce victimization within vulnerable populations. The campaign’s educational awareness objectives focus on two foundational elements: the prevention of human trafficking and the protection of exploited persons.

As part of this partnership, VIA’s Director Hector Arguinzones has announced that Diego Luque, a Blue Campaign Specialist, hosted the first informative webinar for the community. Titled “Diferencia entre la trata de personas y el tráfico” (“Difference Between Human Trafficking and Smuggling”), the webinar was held on July 31 at 6:30 PM and was conducted entirely in Spanish.

The webinar aims to provide the Spanish-speaking community with crucial information to help distinguish between human trafficking and human smuggling, understand the indicators of trafficking, and learn how to respond to possible cases appropriately. By empowering communities with knowledge, the Blue Campaign and VIA strive to prevent human trafficking and protect those at risk of exploitation.