Attorney General Eric Holder met Tuesday with René Préval, the president of Haiti, during his first trip to the United States following the devastating earthquake that struck the Caribbean country in January.

The primary focus of the meeting was to discuss drug trafficking, though the Attorney General also took the opportunity to express his sympathies for the recent tragedy in Haiti, according to a Justice Department spokeswoman.

Haiti is one of the main shipping points in the Caribbean for Colombian cocaine traffic, according to a Drug Enforcement Administration fact sheet on drug trafficking.

Préval also met with Secretary of State Hilary Clinton on Tuesday, and said it would be a “mistake” to rebuild Port-au-Prince as it was before the earthquake. Préval instead urged a post-quake effort to develop Haiti’s provinces, according to a report by the Voice of America.

President Obama will meet with Préval on Wednesday.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Haitian President René Préval on Tuesday (DOJ).

The former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania is trying to help victims of the 7.0 earthquake that destroyed much of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, this week, The Associated Press reported today.

Mary Beth Buchanan (DOJ)

Mary Beth Buchanan, who served as U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh from 2001 until November 2009, is trying to arrange for a private plane to shuttle Haitian orphans to the United States, according to the AP. She is in contact with an immigration lawyer and has found a doctor to help care for the children, whose orphanage is in Port-Au-Prince, the AP said.

Americans Jamie McMurtie Heckman and Alison McMurtie, who live at the orphanage and hail from Pittsburgh, are trying to obtain emergency relief status for the children to come to the United States, according to the AP. The children have been living in the orphanage’s yard without any food or water since the quake struck the impoverished Caribbean nation on Tuesday, the AP said.

Buchanan did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Main Justice left on her home voicemail.

We reported in October that she is considering a bid for a House seat from Pennsylvania.