WHA/CEN DIRECTOR FEELEY BRIEFS SICA MEMBERS ON

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 002270 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR KCRM GT SUBJECT: WHA/CEN DIRECTOR FEELEY BRIEFS SICA MEMBERS ON MERIDA INITIATIVE ¶1. SUMMARY. On November 13, visiting WHA/CEN Director Feeley briefed the Vice Foreign Ministers of the SICA countries on the President's Merida Initiative. He stressed that the proposed $50 million request for Central America within the Merida Initiative was a direct response to the willingness of SICA members to work regionally to combat crime, trans-border narcotics organizations, and gangs. Feeley outlined the three pillars of cooperation included in the Merida Initiative, described the U.S. budget system, and explained that the Department was actively engaged with the U.S. Congress to secure funding for the Merida Initiative. Feeley,s presentation was followed by a good discussion, during which all but one of the delegations responded favorably to the initiative. END SUMMARY. ¶2. On November 13, WHA/CEN Director Feeley briefed Vice Foreign Ministers of the SICA member countries on the President's Merida Initiative. The delegations included Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Belize and the Dominican Republic. WHA/CEN Director opened by praising the SICA member countries, efforts to work together to develop a regional strategy to combat organized crime and narcotics traffickers, adding that SICA,s newly-completed Regional Security Strategy was a ground-breaking effort by the member states to work together. He stressed that the Merida Initiative was not a U.S.-conceived plan to combat organized crime in Mexico and Central America, but rather a response to the plan of action developed by our partners in the region as expressed in the SICA Security Strategy. He made clear that the $50 million proposed for Central America under the Merida Initiative would require Congressional approval, but added that the Department was working closely with members of Congress to both explain the details of the Merida Initiative and to stress the need to support the governments of Central America in combating organized crime. ¶3. WHA/CEN Director outlined the three pillars of the Merida Initiative and briefly explained the programs that were envisioned to support each pillar. Pillar one, Counter-narcotics and Border Security, would include a regional approach to detect trafficking and smuggling, support maritime interdiction efforts, and combat arms trafficking. Pillar two, Public Security and Law Enforcement, would include implementation of the U.S. Strategy on Criminal Gangs, provide technical assistance and training to the region's police, and advance preventative and community policing initiatives. Pillar three, Institution Building and Rule of Law, would include funding programs aimed at improving the effectiveness of the region's judiciaries, providing training for judicial employees, and providing technical assistance in the area of prison management. WHA/CEN Director stressed that the Pillars outlined above were developed as a response to SICA's security plan and were designed to help our Central American partners meet their stated objectives. ¶4. Response to the presentation was generally positive with delegations welcoming the possibility of increased U.S. funding in support of their efforts to combat the region's growing organized crime problem. The SICA Chair (Guatemala) applauded the Merida Initiative for supporting SICA,s regional approach to security problems, and stressed that member countries should work through their respective embassies to raise the profile of SICA,s Regional Security Plan in Washington. Representatives from Honduras, El QPlan in Washington. Representatives from Honduras, El Salvador, Panama and the Dominican Republic all stated that the Merida Initiative was a welcome response to their efforts at fighting organized crime and gang violence. However, each stressed that it represented only an initial step, and would need to be followed by additional funding and programs. The delegation from Nicaragua argued that U.S. proximity to Central America and the role U.S. consumers play in the region's narcotics trafficking problem warranted a much greater financial response from the United States. Other delegates responded to the Nicaraguans' intervention by reiterating their support for the U.S. initiative and suggesting that now was the time for concerted action, not overly ambitious unilateral requests. ¶5. Comment: The meeting was an excellent launch for the Central American component of the Merida Initiative and evinced precisely the broad support among the members we hoped it would. It is significant that, in the face of Nicaragua's unhelpful intervention, the other vice ministers jointly walked their colleague back and the U.S. delegation was able to encourage continued open dialogue and consultation. A number of participants commented on the margins to the WHA/CEN Director that they would be willing to coordinate with their embassies in Washington to discuss the region and its security issues with members of the U.S. Congress. ¶6. This message has been cleared by WHA/CEN Director Feeley. Derham