Trafficking cop

International | Prosecutions against international slave traders are up three-fold in the last three years, and even some liberal human-rights activists give credit to President Bush | Priya Abraham

Duly noted by the media on President George Bush’s trip to Florida last month: a reference to rampant prostitution in Cuba, and the four ham, cheese, and pork sandwiches he bought from the local Cuban café la Tropicana. Mr. Bush was in Tampa on July 16 for a Justice Department conference on human trafficking—a presidential visit, not an official campaign stop. But paying attention to Cuban-Americans in a swing state during an election year inevitably received more attention than his message.

That was a pity to some conference attendees, who have appreciated Mr. Bush’s opposition to human trafficking. The practice is modern-day slavery, involving the sale of 600,000 to 800,000 people a year across international borders into forced prostitution or labor. About 80 percent are women, and 70 percent of them are funneled into the sex trade. “Human life is a gift of our Creator,” Mr. Bush told the audience. “It should never be for sale.”