HONDURAS'S ASSESSMENT OF CENTRAL AMERICA SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEGUCIGALPA 001336

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CEN ELIA TELLO AND SARA CRAIG, WHA/FO
GIOVANNI SNIDLE, AND INL/LP AIMEE MARTIN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/08/2017
TAGS: PREL PINS PTER HO
SUBJECT: HONDURAS'S ASSESSMENT OF CENTRAL AMERICA SECURITY
REQUIREMENTS

REF: STATE 107145

Classified By: AMB. CHARLES FORD. REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D)


1. SUMMARY. (C) Post's assessment of the regional security
requirements from Honduras focuses on two strategies: a
transit zone strategy to disrupt the flow of contraband
through Central America, and an anti-crime strategy to reduce
the level of violence and address the issues of organized
crime, money laundering and gangs. The transit zone strategy
requires the continued transformation of military forces to
confront the transnational threats of the trafficking of
drugs, arms and people, through increased training, joint
operations, and the purchase of military equipment better
suited for the new threats. The transit zone strategy also
requires more involvement by the USG to construct
infrastructure for operations and provide assistance for a
Regional Counternarcotics Center. This strategy should take
advantage of the unique location of Soto Cano Airbase in
Honduras as the focus of operations. The anti-crime strategy
must focus on reformation of the police, increased training,
more emphasis on complex investigations against organized
crime, money launders, corrupt officials, and an anti-gang
strategy that looks beyond law enforcement to include
prevention programs, rehabilitation and eventual reinsertion
into society. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) A regional security strategy for Mexico and Central
America should contain two essential components: a transit
zone strategy and anti-crime strategy. The transit zone
strategy is required to disrupt and contain the smuggling of
contraband, including drugs, arms, and people, from source
countries through and around Central America. The anti-crime
strategy is necessary to reduce the level of criminal
violence in each country; implement programs to address gang
violence and reduce gang membership through rehabilitation
and reinsertion programs; and train police, prosecutors, and
the judicial system to address corruption, organized crime,
and money laundering. All countries in Mexico and Central
America are adversely affected by the flow of contraband
through their respective territories. Crime is a regional
issue as high levels of violence and corruption impact the
lives of all citizens while gangs and organized crime operate
throughout the region.

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Transit Zone Strategy Against Traffickers
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3. (C) Honduras is a transit country for drugs from the
source countries to Mexico and the United States. The
majority of the drugs are carried by ships and small planes
that stop to refuel or transfer their cargo along the north
coast of Honduras or in the Bay Islands. A small amount of
drugs are shipped overland. The primary overriding need is a
transit zone strategy that will incorporate the military and
law enforcement capabilities of each country along the
transit route to disrupt the flow of drugs. This requires a
regional approach that will utilize assets from each member
of SICA to collect intelligence on the various means of
transport, analyze and disseminate the information to all
members, and then engage in counter-narcotics operations to
halt the drugs. In addition to carrying drugs, the ships and
planes are responsible for the transport of arms from
Honduras to other Central American countries and Mexico. By
stopping these illegal transports, the flow of all contraband
can be stopped.


4. (C) Post's Country Team has worked with the Honduran Armed
Forces (HOAF) to transform the host country's military into a
force better suited to address these transnational threats.
This transformation begins with doctrine and training and
extends through equipment and operations. Military assistance
sales are focused on the purchase of new equipment, such as
long range light aircraft and patrol craft, to search and
interdict drug shipments. The HOAF is slowly moving from
military force composed of tanks, artillery, and fighter jets

designed to counter traditional cross-border threats to a
lighter, more flexible force to respond to traffickers of
contraband.


5. (C) To assist this ongoing transformation of the HOAF and
implement a transit zone strategy, there are a number of
items that must be provided by either the USG or other SICA
members. The Honduran Navy requires fuel for its patrol boats
to intercept the go-fast and fishing vessels; aerial radar
surveillance in the form of P-3 flights, drones, or
observation balloons to track ships and planes within the
12-mile limit; and U.S. Navy vessels for joint operations
with the Honduran Navy to increase their role and to act as a
second line of defense for any boats that get through.


6. (C) Many opportunities for encouraging partnerships and
inter-operability exist through more support for joint
operations and training that emphasize counternarcotics,
counter-terrorism, and other operations that confront the
smuggling of contraband. To expand the reach of the HOAF, the
USG is supporting the construction of infrastructure in
remote areas of Honduras, such as in the Department of
Gracias A Dios, that will serve as bases for counternarcotics
and counter-terrorism operations. These bases would be
suitable for regional operations involving units of other CA
countries. In addition, the USG continues to work with the
HOAF to convert inappropriate forces into units specifically
designed to counter transnational threats.


7. (C) The members of SICA previously agreed to construct and
operate a Regional Counternarcotics Center in Honduras. So
far, neither the GOH nor other SICA members have pushed to
commence construction. Manned by trained personnel from the
CA countries and in touch with elements from all the military
forces, this Center could serve as the focus for a transit
zone strategy from which to conduct counternarcotics
operations. The US military recently upgraded the regional
military training facility at La Venta, north of Tegucigalpa.
This facility could be adapted to police training and serve
as the regional center.


8. (C) One important asset that cannot be overlooked is Soto
Cano Airbase in central Honduras. As the only remaining US
military base south of Key West, FL, it provides an excellent
base from which training, intelligence gathering, transport,
and surveillance can be directed. It remains an
under-utilized element in the region, and until the Regional
Counternarcotics Center is constructed, Soto Cano could serve
as the command and control center for implementation of a
transit zone strategy.

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Regional Crime Strategy
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9. (C) The high rate of crime throughout Central America and
Mexico is a regional threat that must be addressed as a
security issue. The daily violence of robberies and murders
discourages international investment, encourages migration to
the US as people seek a safer atmosphere to work and raise
their family, and causes citizens to lose faith in their
elected governments that could lead to the rise of
un-democratic, populist leaders. While "common crime" remains
the overriding concern, high rates of corruption, the growth
of organized crime, increase money laundering, and, of
course, the gangs, are all issues that must be included a
regional security strategy, as those crimes tend to cross
borders and involve criminals who transit throughout CA and
Mexico.


10. (C) Post has identified reformation of the Honduran
Police as one of its priorities. With adequate funding,
special advisors and trainers can be assigned to the Honduran
Police Academies to improve the quality of police education
and teach recruits basic policing and investigative
techniques. These trainers would also concentrate on ethics
and the importance of human rights. The police also need

basic equipment such as portable crime kits for collecting
and analyzing evidence. The Honduran Police have taken steps
to reduce corruption in their ranks by requiring all new
recruits to undergo a polygraph exam and drug testing all
police officers is expected to begin soon. It is in the USG's
interest to continue supporting such measures and encourage
more.


11. (C) Regional information-sharing systems are necessary
for the CA countries and Mexico to exchange criminal data,
such as bio-metric information. The Honduran Police have
requested both a ballistics laboratory and a nation-wide
fingerprint database to increase the number of criminal
convictions and move away from the reliance on eye-witness
testimony. Both the laboratory and the database could be
linked to similar systems in other countries so that
important information could be shared with neighboring police
forces.


12. (C) Organized crime, money laundering and corruption are
specialized areas of criminal investigation that are
currently beyond the capabilities of most regional police
forces. Special units should be created, trained, and
provided the necessary technical equipment to break up
criminal rings and follow the trail of money to its source.
Prosecuting attorneys and judges must also be trained to
ensure convictions are obtained after arrest. Information
sharing among the regional law enforcement units is essential
to stop these activities that routinely cross borders, as
seen by the recent arrest of six Hondurans who were arrested
trying to smuggle USD 800,000 to Panama.


13. (C) A regional strategy must also encompass how and where
convicted drug traffickers and other high-level criminals
will be kept after their convictions. Prisons in Honduras are
badly managed, staffed by poorly trained and often corrupt
guards, and extremely overcrowded. Drug traffickers continue
to run their operations from prison, often recruiting
small-time criminals into their organizations. A
high-security prison for drug traffickers, with the
capability to jam cell phones and other electronic
communications, built in a remote area would isolate
convicted drug traffickers and reduce their influence in
trafficking operations.


14. (C) Finally, gangs are a regional problem that must be
addressed by a regional strategy. Law enforcement needs a
regional information system to share data on gang activities
and gang members. Such a system could be used to track gang
members as they travel throughout the region. Simply stopping
gang activities and arresting gang members are not
sufficient. Programs must be established to rehabilitate
ex-gang members who leave gangs, provide training and
educational opportunities to assist them in finding
employment, and tattoo-removal machines so that ex-gang
members can be reinserted into society. Support must continue
for educational programs to discourage teenagers from joining
gangs, along with drug awareness and anti-violence programs.

FORD