MISSION HONDURAS LAUNCHES MERIDA COORDINATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 001080 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR PREL KDEM KCOR KCRM MASS EAID ECON KJUS PHUM, KPAO, HO SUBJECT: MISSION HONDURAS LAUNCHES MERIDA COORDINATION WORKING GROUP GOALS REF: TEGUCIGALPA 997 ¶1. Embassy Honduras has formed a plan to coordinate Merida Initiative efforts both mission-wide and bilaterally. We have created a Merida Working Group that meets monthly and includes senior-level representatives from POL/NAS, DEA, USAID, MILGROUP, DHS/ICE, DAO, RSO, PAS, MCC, JTF-B, RAO and TAT. The DCM chairs the WG meetings and coordinates information sharing between the member offices and agencies. The WG will produce a mission-wide Merida strategy document to lay out overall goals, establish lead offices and coordinate Merida-funded programs with other related security and prevention activities to ensure all Mission elements work in concert. ¶2. USAID will primarily focus on the "soft" side of the overall effort by supporting community-led initiatives to address the root social and economic causes of youth vulnerability to gangs and remote communities' vulnerability to drug traffickers as a source of income. USAID will address the gang problem by focusing three program elements on select urban "hot spots" and rural areas affected by drug trafficking: 1) community gang prevention; 2) education and job opportunities; and 3) municipal response. USAID's Merida programs will work in tandem with -- and enhance -- other existing USAID programs, as well as coordinate with the efforts of other agencies in the Mission. PAS will work closely with AID in identifying counterpart NGOs and individuals, as well as consider Merida benefits in their International Visitor programs. ¶3. The primary action office for Merida's "hard" programs will be POL/NAS, managing INL-directed funding. NAS will focus on providing equipment, training and capacity-building efforts to police, prosecutors and other security sector actors. While INL funds -- both Honduras-specific and regionally managed -- will also be directed to anti-gang initiatives, they will be designed to remain complementary to USAID efforts. Understanding that Merida funds are in addition to already-existing programs to promote peace and security in Honduras and the region, these two offices will also work in coordination with DEA, MILGROUP, DAO, RSO, RAO, PAS, JTF-B, TAT and MCC to ensure all efforts are managed in concert. ¶4. The Ambassador has proposed to President Zelaya that the U.S. and Honduras develop a two country, multi-agency (taskforce) approach to implementing Merida and asked that Honduras designate a Merida Coordinator to serve as the counterpart to the DCM. President Zelaya has appointed Security Minister Rodas to serve as the Honduran coordinator and the President and the Ambassador agreed to convene the Merida coordination task force before the end of CY 2008. The task force would bring together all relevant ministries within the GOH, and the President and the Ambassador would co-chair the first meeting involving senior Cabinet ministers and Country Team members. Subsequently, Minister Rodas and the DCM would chair quarterly meetings to operationalize the task force. The goals of the bilateral TF will be to maximize the effectiveness of Merida projects and ensure GOH input into deciding priorities and also ensure its participation as a contributing partner, rather than just a recipient of USG assistance. The Ambassador has discussed further ways to coordinate security sector efforts with the Minister of Security (reftel). ¶5. Embassy Honduras also will seek to emphasize the regional elements of the Merida Initiative. The Tegucigalpa Merida WG will have regular meetings with mission personnel and reach out to counterparts from the U.S. Embassies in other Merida countries to boost economies of scale, the sharing of lessons learned and coordination of efforts across borders. Further to this goal, the Ambassador believes it would be beneficial TEGUCIGALP 00001080 002 OF 002 to have Ministers of Security and U.S. Ambassadors of the region meet periodically to promote regional cooperation on Merida measures. ¶6. The Honduran Military was transformed into a positive defender of democratic principles through coordinated effort with the USG in the 1990s. We hope that we will be able to make use of the Merida Initiative as a seed for making a similarly positive transition of the Honduran law enforcement community in order to tackle the shared threats of transnational crime and drug trafficking. Furthermore, the Merida Initiative also offers an opportunity for the Central American countries to expand their regional cooperative efforts, a long-standing U.S. policy goal. LLORENS