Central America and American Foreign Policy - Research Paper Example

Central America and American Foreign Policy Introduction and background of issue The recent years saw the deterioration of security in Central America, as drug traffickers, gangs, and other criminal groups increased their influence in the region. The security crisis has led to an escalating level of violence and crime, threatening the safety of the residents and the autonomy of the region’s governments (Seligson & Smith, 2010). In particular, the Northern triangle has been adversely affected by the security crisis, in countries like Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. The escalation of the security crisis has spurred these countries to have the highest rates of homicides in the world. The security crisis has also affected the economic power of the countries, and some analysts have even mentioned that the presence of criminal organizations in the region also presents challenges to the strategic interests of the US as a whole. More recently, policy makers have channeled more attention to the area, and also supported the different countries financially, following the realization that the region is affecting the US as a whole (Millett & Perez, 2005). The increased inflow of criminal groups in Central America was favored by the institutional weakness facing the region, especially after the US increased their backing to Mexico and Colombia. The initiation of the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) in 2010 sought to address the security crisis, by covering areas beyond preventing the entry of narcotics. The initiative entails the provision of technical assistance, training and equipment to support governments and address the factors fueling the crisis (Millett & Perez, 2005). This paper will maintain the argument that the security assistance offered by the US, in the form of human rights intervention, sustainability and funding and policy and resource coordination, is the main component of the solution to the security crisis. The Scope of the security crisis In a manner similar to that of Mexico, Central American countries have been battling the problem of increasing crime levels, drug trafficking, homicides as well as criminal group and gang activities. The drug-trafficking crisis facing Mexico attracted the attention of US policy makers, but little attention has been offered to the security crisis facing many countries in Central America, including Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. For example, the homicide levels for every 100,000 citizens in 2012 were approximated at about 21.5, but those of El Salvador and Honduras were 41.2 and 90.4 respectively. The enforcement of US security intervention support was increased in Mexico, the security problem in Central American countries intensified, because many are characterized by weaker administrations, institutions and fewer resources, which makes them less capable of handling the situation. The multiplication effort resulted from the fact that, many gangs and groups have channeled more efforts towards the more vulnerable countries in the region (Kliksberg, 2007). The social problems facing many countries in Central America have been intensified by the persistence of inequality, poverty and high unemployment. The effects of these include that limited options for the growing population are available, except the illegal immigration that affords them the opportunity to secure employment in other regions. The only exceptions that do not fall under the low-income countries class are Panama and Costa Rica, and that indicates low or insignificant levels of economic and human development (Ávalos, 2014). The impoverishment of these countries can be traced to the inequality of society, mainly due to gender discrimination and the exclusion of ethnic minority groups. Inequality and poverty are reinforced by persistent unemployment and the limited capacity for social mobility: the fueling factors were intensified by the recent financial crisis. Dictatorship and armed conflict has also remained a common phenomenon in the countries, with the exception of Costa Rica and Belize. The armed conflict facing these countries led to the proliferation of illicit weapons and a reduction in democracy and respect for the rule of law. In the recent past, a lot of attention has been channeled towards the governance weaknesses and the issues that have made the countries in the Central American region more vulnerable to criminal gangs, drug trafficker and other criminal entities. The permeation of the region with the different kinds of criminal activities has increased the inability of the countries, in protecting their citizens; protecting the citizens is a basic governmental responsibility. The main administrative weakness is the inability to secure the territories and the borders of many of the countries. One example is the Mexico-Guatemala territorial border, which spans 600 miles, but is manned by eight entry ports; there are more than 350 informal border crossings, and little capacity is available to seal them. This lack of control could be traced to different factors, including that the national military and police are ill-equipped and in many cases undermanned for effective management of the fully-armed criminal groups. Resource constraints have remained a major difficulty for these countries, noting that the average tax revenue was 17.4 percent of national GDP. The Criminal threats facing the region Drug trafficking has remained a major problem for Central American countries and America in general. Starting from the 1990s, the main channel for the entry of illegal drugs like cocaine into the US was Mexico. Much recently, in 2007 it was found that the larger percentage of the cocaine entering Mexico was transshipped through Central America. Apart from cocaine, opiates like marijuana have been transported across the same channels, including the 80 percent of the illicit drugs moved from South America. The increased security monitoring of the Mexican territory has pushed drug traffickers to use the more unstable borders of Central American countries (Ávalos, 2014). For example, Honduras became a major channel for the transit of illegal drugs after it was hit by rampant violence and political crisis in the recent past. The country has been used as the main transit point where cocaine is offloaded from boats and planes and then it is repackaged before it is transported to other parts of America, especially the North. As of 2013, the different countries in the Central American region were identified as the main transit points used for the trafficking of drugs into the US. Gang activity has remained another security threat for Central American countries, and that has led the media, analysts and governments to point out ‘maras’ (youth gangs) as the main contributors to the problem. The UNODOC gave the estimates showing that gang membership in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala was more than 54,000. In 2012, there were more than 22,000 gang members in Guatemala alone, and El Salvador has the highest numbers of gang affiliation (UNODC, 2007). The administrations and the officials of Central American countries have identified gangs as the main perpetrators of homicides, particularly those that have taken place in Honduras and El Salvador, despite the fact that some analysts and law enforcement agencies believe otherwise. Other studies indicate a relationship between the increment of gangs and organized crime, including drug trafficking and revenge killings. Central American policy measures Addressing the security threat presented by domestic and transnational organizations has become a major goal for the governments of Central American countries. In particular, the countries from the northern triangle have increasingly adopted more aggressive solutions to the problem. These measures include the deployment of military forces to support the police and also the enactment of strict anti-gang laws in Honduras and El Salvador, and the outcomes of the approaches included the roundup of the people suspected as being gang members. The problem with these security measures include that they have been instituted in a reactive fashion, following the increment in the threat of violence, rather than the case of instituting them proactively for the strengthening of national and regional security. Due to the negative positioning of the security measures, the rising level of crime have not reduced, but instead, the outcomes were negative – including the overcrowding of prisons. The outcomes of these policies have compelled the government to adopt more holistic approaches. More recently, the governments of the region have adopted a wide array of approaches with the aim of countering drug trafficking and the increasing levels of crime. One example is that of the Honduran government, which has used the military for policing; the government also created a new line of military-police for policing purposes. The Guatemalan president has also increased the engagement of the military in countering the threat of organized crime; the president has also called for the decriminalization of drugs and the adoption of other policies to address the situation (U.S. Department of State, 2011). US Policy in relation to the security crisis The security policies adopted by the US around the Western hemisphere have changed to a great extent in the recent past, especially after the experience of the repercussions of the cold war. The changes included that the prevention of the transit of narcotics into the US became the main effort in Colombia among other cocaine-producing countries. The efforts employed included the interdiction of narcotics during the 1990s in Central America, but the funding for the approach was low. In particular, the Obama administration has worked on the development of collaborative partnerships in the region, in line with its outlook that the safety and the security of Americans is among the four main priorities of the era. The partnerships formed included ‘Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) and the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CSBI)’. The areas covered by the initiatives include the provision of training, equipment and technical assistance, towards the support of interdiction and law enforcement operations. The partnerships were formed to strengthen national capacity in addressing the underlying social and economic conditions and the security challenges of the region. US support in Central America can be traced to the time of the cold war; the US supported the countries, in order to stop them from accepting the military or the political partnership of Soviet allies. CARSI started operating as an autonomous organization in 2010, congregating the efforts of the leaders of Central America, despite the fact that many claimed they were not actively involved during its formation. Currently, the initiative provides training, equipment and technical assistance to enable the countries to build their capacity in countering the threat of organized crime and other forms of insecurity. Additionally, CARSI offers support to the community-based programs aimed at resolving the social and the economic factors underlying the security crisis. The primary goals of the organization include fostering street security, stopping the movement of drugs and criminals within the region and strengthening the governments in the region. Other goals include those of helping the communities at risk and increasing the cooperation and the coordination of the nations and other international players in addressing the security crisis. In the area of funding, the government allocated about USD 803.6 million between 2008 and 2014, for the countries in the region, under the Merida (currently CARSI) initiative. More than half of the funds were deployed under INCLE (International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement) and about 32 percent was channeled towards INL (International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs) (U.S. Department of State, 2011) (Ávalos, 2014). A small portion of the funding was channeled towards De-mining, Anti-terrorism and other programs. The larger portion of the funding is channeled towards the resolution of the issues facing the countries at the northern triangle, including Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. The activities of CARSI are supported by a variety of “US agencies, including Defense, Department of State, Immigration and Customs enforcement, Treasury, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), USAID, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Forearms and Explosives”. Through CARSI, the US funds projects aimed at supporting the efforts of addressing the security crisis in Central America. The US agencies partnering with the different countries provide the technical assistance, the equipment and the training needed to facilitate the interdiction of narcotics and breaking the criminal networks operating in the area and throughout the US. The programs funded under the CARSI initiative are instrumental in helping the law enforcement of the region in identifying deficiencies, capacity building and in fostering the region’s security. CARSI has also played an important role in supporting the prevention programs aimed at reducing drug demand and supporting vulnerable youth groups through vocation, education and recreation. The efforts are supplemented using the law enforcement and narcotics interdiction, through supporting specialized law enforcement units empowered by the US government, including the Transnational Anti-Gang (TAG) (U.S. Department of State, 2011). The areas that is critical to the success of the programs and the initiatives, under the jurisdiction of the congress include sustainability and funding, resource and policy management and aligning efforts with other national policies. Conclusion The recent years have seen the deterioration of security in Central America, leading to a security crisis characterised by gang activity, drug trafficking, and other criminal activities. The security crisis has attracted the attention of US policy-making agencies, and the efforts include the initiation of initiatives for countering the crisis. The crisis is extensive among Central American countries, especially those within the northern triangle. The criminal threats facing the region include drug trafficking, gang activity and organized crime (Millett & Perez, 2005). The policies implemented by the regional government have not been effective, and that triggered the entry of US policy making. The entry of the US in the policy intervention of the region has included the formation of oversight initiatives, including CARSI. The outcomes of the US-Central America partnerships include the increment of the funding channelled towards the region and the initiative. References Ávalos, H. (2014). The United States and Central America’s Northern Tier: the Ongoing Disconnect, Inter-American Dialogue. Working Paper, March 2014, 11. Kliksberg, B. (2007). Mitos y Realidades Sobre la Criminalidad en America Latina. Guatemala City: F & G Editores. Millett, R., & Perez, O. (2005). New Threats and Old Dilemmas: Central America’s Armed Forces in the 21st Century. Journal of Political and Military Sociology, 33(1). Seligson, M., & Smith, A. eds. (2010). The Political Culture of Democracy, 2010: Democratic Consolidation in the Americas in Hard Times. Latin American Public Opinion Project. Retrieved from: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/insights/RegionalEng.pdf UNODC. (2007). Crime and Development in Central America: Caught in the Crossfire, (May 2007), 60. U.S. Department of State. (2011). Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR). Read More