EL SALVADOR UPDATE ON REGIONAL SECURITY PLAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 001006 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR D. FISK DEPARTMENT FOR ANNE PATTERSON AND TOM SHANNON E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/24/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL KCRM KHLS ES GT HO MX SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR UPDATE ON REGIONAL SECURITY PLAN REF: SAN SALVADOR 837 Classified By: Ambassador Charles L. Glazer for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. On May 21 emboffs met with Acting Minister of Public Security and Justice Astor Escalante to review progress on the GOES Regional Security plan raised in reftel. Escalante assured emboffs that the GOES team is working on the project to more fully develop the plan, but that the next meeting of representatives from the interested parties (Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, El Salvador) will be in June. Though El Salvador is taking steps to develop this comprehensive regional security plan, it is post,s assessment that USG help and leadership will be needed to make this a reality. End Summary. ¶2. (C) El Salvador,s Acting Minister of Public Security provided emboffs an update on efforts to advance a regional security plan focused on enhanced police cooperation. The plan will focus initially on developing protocols and regulations that address concrete operational issues such as procedures for maritime interdiction when vessels move from one country,s jurisdiction to another, placement of police attaches in countries throughout the region, cooperation among countries in the protection of witnesses and victims, and joint training and operations to stem the flow of precursor chemicals and synthetic drugs, among other actions (see reftel). ¶3. (C) In a separate, parallel process, the Attorneys General of the region will meet a second time in Mexico, June 7-8, to discuss efforts to improve cooperation in investigations and prosecutions with a focus on the gang problem facing the region. A first step is negotiating agreements and protocols to facilitate the sharing of information amongst the countries. At present, there is no established framework for information sharing between the various law enforcement agencies. If agreed, working level groups would then be established to work out the details and overcome the logistical problems and security concerns. ¶4. (C) Another topic that will likely be on the agenda of the AGs is the ability to jointly investigate and/or prosecute cases. This involves not only information sharing but also extradition and mutual legal assistance issues. Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador do not extradite their own nationals, and it is unlikely that El Salvador will have an extradition law in the foreseeable future. Honduras and Guatemala both have relatively new wiretapping laws, something the GOES is keenly interested in, but prevented from doing by their own Constitution. ¶5. (C) COMMENT: Organized crime and gang activity in Central America, and especially in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, account for thousands of homicides each year with growing evidence of collusion and use of the gangs by transnational drug and alien smuggling rings. Law enforcement agencies in the countries are outnumbered by gang members, woefully ill-equipped to confront gangs and organized crime, and some are themselves infiltrated by criminal elements. While USG agencies have stepped up cooperative law enforcement efforts considerably within the region, USG resources dedicated to helping our closest neighbors address the gang/transnational crime problem are inadequate. We see promising signs that the Salvadoran government recognizes the need to tackle this problem regionally. However, for El Salvador (and the Central American countries) to construct a viable anti-gang/transnational crime strategy, they will need more assistance from our government, including resources to hire, train, and equip additional police officers, prosecutors, and forensic experts, inter alia. In addition, Salvadoran and other Central American penal institutions are overcrowded and ineffective, and will no longer be able to house or rehabilitate its growing prison population as the criminal justice system improves and deportation of violent criminals increases. As the Campeche Group moves forward in developing a comprehensive transnational crime strategy, we should be prepared to provide a significant level of assistance, while keeping the ultimate resolution of the problem in the hands of the Central Americans. Glazer