Central America has a security strategy “ready” to present to cooperating countries and organizations on 22 and 23 June in Guatemala, the Central American Integration System (SICA) announced.
Central America has a security strategy “ready” to present to cooperating countries and organizations on 22 and 23 June in Guatemala, the Central American Integration System (SICA) announced.
The plan was completed in San Salvador at a meeting of delegates from Central America and from several other countries and organizations, including two U.S. officials: Arturo Valenzuela, in charge of U.S. diplomacy in Latin America, and Julissa Reynoso, chief diplomat for Central America and the Caribbean.
“With this meeting, which served to review documents, including the action plan, its programs, and the profiles of derived projects, as well as the follow-up mechanism, the Security Strategy Support Conference,” which will be held in Guatemala, “is practically ready,” SICA said in a statement.
The meeting, which followed the general assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), was also attended by officials from Canada, Mexico, the European Union, Germany, Spain, Italy, Colombia, Korea, Chile, and Finland.
Delegates from the UN Development Program, the OAS, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration also attended, according to SICA, which brings together the Central American countries.
The strategy was completed following a meeting of deputy ministers responsible for security-related areas and delegates from the “Group of Friends” of the plan, on which work has been underway since it was adopted in Guatemala in 2007, SICA specified.
All the Central American heads of government have confirmed their attendance at the conference in Guatemala, as have Juan Manuel Santos (Colombia), Felipe Calderón (Mexico), and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Central America is one of the world’s most violent regions, behind only war zones, according to UN data. An OAS report released Monday at the assembly in San Salvador indicates that the Americas are the most violent continent, with one murder every four minutes.