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Latin nations to form special forces unit
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-07-01 08:58
Central American leaders agreed Thursday to create a regional special forces
unit to fight drug trafficking, gang violence and terrorism within their
borders.
Wrapping up a two-day regional meeting, the leaders said they would also
develop a Central American passport and common visa requirements for the region.
The decisions were the latest steps aimed at integrating the region by opening
borders from Nicaragua to Guatemala and working toward a free trade agreement
with the United States and the Dominican Republic.
Honduran President Ricardo Maduro, left, and
Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos, right, embrace following the 5th
Ordinary Assembly for the System of Central American Integration (SICA) in
Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Thursday, June 30, 2005.
[AP] | Honduran President Ricardo Maduro said each country will develop its section
of the so-called rapid response forces, and then countries would begin joint
operations. He also said countries were working to issue regional arrest
warrants.
On Wednesday, Guatemalan President Oscar Berger called on the United States
to help train and equip the force, but it was too early to say if Washington
would play a role.
"Obviously, we need support from the institutions in the country that
consumes drugs, which is to say from the United States," he said.
Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala have already integrated their
customs systems, leaving only one common checkpoint at their shared border
crossings and speeding the movement of people and goods.
U.S. officials had expressed concern that opening the borders might also
facilitate drug trafficking and other crimes. To ease concerns, Central American
nations are developing common databases and improving their shared technology so
they can track the movement of people and goods.
Deborah McCarthy, a senior State Department adviser who was part of a U.S.
delegation invited to Thursday's meeting, said that as Central America removes
barriers between its nations, it must strengthen its outermost borders against
crime and tighten security throughout the region.
"How they do that is up to them," she said.
McCarthy said security in the region was key, because it is a main route for
drugs and illegal migrants and a home to thousands of gang members who move
easily between Central America and the United States.
There have been unsubstantiated allegations that terrorists were using the
region to possibly stage attacks against U.S. targets, fueled in part by the
fact that El Salvador is the only Latin American country left with troops in
Iraq.
While there has been no evidence terrorists are operating here, officials
said in a statement they wanted to work toward a common strategy to deal with
"the eventual use of Central American territory by international terrorist
groups."
Also Thursday, Central American leaders were developing a common plan for
battling their growing gang problem, which began when the U.S. began deporting
Salvadoran gang members in the 1990s. Many of the gangs have become brutally
violent, beheading their victims and, in Honduras, leaving bloody warnings for
officials to halt tougher measures against them.
Mexico has been the latest to join the fight, saying it will toughen laws
against gangs and begin actively cooperating with Central American law
enforcement officials. U.S. and Central American officials already share
intelligence and information on gangs.
Protesters, angered by a proposal to create a Central American Free Trade
Agreement that would include the United States and the Dominican Republic,
camped overnight at security fences surrounding the hotel where the summit took
place. They held up anti-free trade signs and shouted: "Gringos get out!"
On Wednesday, officials agreed to strengthen the rights of migrants heading
north to the United States while fighting the smugglers who move thousands
across borders, from Panama to the United States.
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