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