Pubdate: Thu, 29 Nov 2007
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Page: A13
Copyright: 2007 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Manuel Roig-Franzia, Washington Post Foreign Service

CENTRAL AMERICANS SEE PERIL IN BUSH'S ANTI-DRUG PRIORITIES

MEXICO CITY -- The funding imbalance in the Bush administration's new 
anti-drug plan, which would send 10 times as much aid to Mexico as to 
all seven Central American nations combined, is generating anxiety in 
Central America.

A packet of six documents obtained by The Washington Post shows that 
no Central American nation would receive more than $10 million and 
most would get less than $3 million, in contrast to $500 million 
proposed for Mexico. Central American political leaders and activists 
expressed concerns that if most of the money goes to Mexico, drug 
cartels will shift their operations to countries such as Guatemala 
and El Salvador.

Materials being presented by the Bush administration to Congress 
describe the Central American isthmus as "the primary transit point 
for people, drugs and arms destined for the United States." But 
several Central American activists and officials said in interviews 
Wednesday that the $50 million Bush proposal for the seven countries 
is insufficient given the region's role in drug trafficking.

"It's clear -- it's obvious -- that in economic terms Central America 
is not a priority for the United States," said Jeannette Aguilar, an 
analyst at the University of Central America in San Salvador. "This 
is a regional problem that needs a regional solution."

President Bush announced the aid package Oct. 22 after a series of 
meetings with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. The total $550 
million package is included in a supplemental war funding bill being 
considered by Congress. State Department officials have said they 
will seek an additional $900 million for Central America and Mexico 
in the next two years.

State Department spokesman Rob McInturff said the aid plan is still 
being developed and is likely to be adjusted by Congress. "We want to 
look at the narco-trafficking problem holistically in a way that 
includes Mexico and Central America," he said. "This is a good starting point."

The proposal is the largest international anti-drug effort by the 
United States since the launch seven years ago of a program to fight 
drug trafficking and Marxist rebels in Colombia, at an annual cost of 
about $600 million.

Calderon sought the aid package because of escalating violence 
between drug cartels, blamed for more than 4,000 deaths in the past 
18 months. Analysts and Mexican law enforcement officials say rival 
cartels are trying to capitalize on power vacuums left by the arrest 
of several drug kingpins.

Central American nations banded together to seek help in combating 
drug cartels and street gangs seen as largely responsible for the 
astoundingly high homicide rates in the region. In 2005, for 
instance, the murder rate in El Salvador was 56 per 100,000 people -- 
six times the world average, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), ranking minority member of the 
Foreign Relations Committee, called for a significant increase in aid 
to the Central American nations at a recent hearing. "Central 
American officials feel that they will not be able to confront 
threats effectively without more assistance," Lugar said. "They fear 
that gang members and drug traffickers will flee Mexico for Central 
America, where it will be easier to operate."

In Guatemala, drug traffickers were suspected in the killings of 
dozens of local candidates and political workers before the first 
round of presidential voting in September, and are widely believed to 
have infiltrated most government institutions in the country.

"Guatemala is the country most at risk when the Mexican cartels look 
for new territory," said Diego de Leon, a political analyst at the 
Myrna Mack Foundation, a human rights organization based in Guatemala 
City. "What could happen is that the problem just spreads out, and 
we're the closest."

Guatemala would be the largest Central American beneficiary of aid in 
the plan, receiving $9.2 million, followed by Honduras, with $7.4 
million, and El Salvador, at $4.9 million, according to the 
documents. Costa Rica would receive $2.7 million, primarily to 
improve maritime interdiction efforts, and Panama $2.3 million, 
mostly for vetting special police units. Nearly $6 million is set 
aside for regional projects and $14.8 million has yet to be designated.

One of the surprises for Central American officials was the aid 
planned for Nicaragua. It would get $1.9 million for projects 
including the vetting of special forces and fingerprinting networks 
- -- less than any country except tiny Belize, which is slated for $740,000.

Nicaraguans were "bizarrely puzzled" when the package was unveiled, a 
Nicaraguan official said in an interview. "We're not going to turn 
down free money, but it's not much," said the official, speaking on 
condition of anonymity.

Nicaragua has recently been praised by international watchdog groups 
for an aggressive crackdown on drug trafficking that has included 
high-profile arrests and large seizures. "We felt we were being 
punished for our success," the official said, adding that Nicaragua 
has asked for double the amount outlined in the administration proposal.

In Washington, some lawmakers contend the Bush administration is 
punishing Nicaragua because President Daniel Ortega is a frequent 
critic of the United States. Ortega led the Sandinista government 
that ruled Nicaragua and was the target of U.S.-backed rebel forces 
known as the contras in the 1980s.

"Guatemala and El Salvador have been good friends and Nicaragua under 
Ortega has not, and the money breakdown in the request shows it," a 
senior staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said.

The Central American aid package seeks to modernize law enforcement 
with a variety of high-tech equipment for fingerprint databases and 
Internet-based investigation networks, according to details of the 
plan. The proposal also would create an Internet-based system 
designed to speed repatriation of Salvadorans, Guatemalans and 
Hondurans held in U.S. detention centers by the Department of 
Homeland Security, according to the documents.

Under the proposal, all the Central American countries would receive 
money to send officers to the International Law Enforcement Academy 
in El Salvador for classes in port and aviation security and 
interdiction of smuggled firearms. Also, an Alcohol, Tobacco and 
Firearms special agent would be based in Central America to help with 
firearms interdiction and gang prevention efforts, as well as to 
coordinate training.

A $2 million program would create an Internet-based system to alert 
Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador when their citizens held at U.S. 
detention centers are scheduled for repatriation. The system would 
link to an existing program that allows the home countries to issue 
travel documents via the Internet, cutting the time its citizens are 
in U.S. custody. While not specifically related to drug trafficking, 
the program is being pitched by the Bush administration as a crime 
prevention tool because it would be linked to the FBI's criminal 
fingerprint database, according to one of the documents. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake