Central American Presidents Hold Summit on Gangs:

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 000719 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR WHA/PPC, WHA/CEN, INL/LP, PRM/PRP, AND EB STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV KCRM KJUS EPET KDEM SNAR HO SUBJECT: Central American Presidents Hold Summit on Gangs: Call for Greater USG Assistance and Highlight Deportations ¶1. (U) Central American Presidents held a one-day summit in Tegucigalpa on the issue of gangs. The presidents also addressed the issues of high oil prices, democracy in Nicaragua, and the Pope. On gangs, the presidents urged greater U.S. financial and technical assistance to combat the gang problem and claimed the USG needed to provide more information about gang members deported from the U.S. Ironically, the summit was held the same day a Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) meeting of Central American INL offices was held in Panama to discuss gang issues and USG assistance efforts on the subject. ¶2. (U) The declarations of the presidents can be found on the Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs website at: http://www.sre.hn/protempore(percent)2023/cum bresjefesdeesta dosica.html ¶3. (SBU) The GOH invited the USG at the last minute to send a representative to the summit, but the USG declined to do so. It now appears a follow-on summit will be held in Honduras at the end of April to further discuss this issue and that and invitation for U.S. participation will likely be extended. ¶4. (SBU) EmbOffs briefed a Los Angeles Times reporter on background April 1 to provide the U.S. perspective on the issue of gangs. Post's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Attache also clarified that DHS gives the names, dates of birth , reasons for deportation from the U.S., and a summary of any prior criminal activity of all deportees to Central American governments, and again upon arrival, prior to their deportations from the U.S. ¶5. (U) Post notes that deportees in Honduras are processed through the Centers for Returned Migrants at the airports in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, run by Honduran Immigration and the Catholic Church, which until relatively recently received funding from the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) via the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Palmer