Guatemala - At the Summit of Latin American Integration and Development, CALC, in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, the President of Guatemala, Alvaro Colom, presented the iniciative to conform a multinational force to fight narco activity in the region. To discuss the details of how such a multinational force can be build a new meeting among Presidents is planned for January 2009 in Panama.
The governments of Colombia and Panama agreed to support the initiative of the President of Guatemala, Alvaro Colom. "In January in Panama, we will be together with the other president's to address the issues of crime and actions to be taken by governments to give greater security to our citizens," said President Martín Torrijos of Panama.
Also, the Panamanian president said that the countries involved are fully aware of the problem and have the will to fight crime.
For his part, President Colom explained that the globalization of organized crime requires that governments implement exceptional measures. "This is an alternative that will take us from crisis to opportunity. I am convinced that the joint effort of the nations will help tackle the regional crime."
Despite these declarations, Mexican President Calderon stated in the Mexican newspaper "El Universal" that he is opposed to such a multinational force.
At the end of the summit the security issue and the fight against the narcotraffic was stated in on single point of the declaration of CALC and says the following:
20. The summit noted the importance of maintaining dialogue and cooperation, to confront common threats to security of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, such as the worldwide problem of drugs and transnational organized crime in its various manifestations.
(this is not an official translation of the Spanish text).
Mexico does not want to assume the responsibility of it´s failed strategy to control organized crime concerning drugs and narco gangs that originates in their territory. Calderon is a sitting duk President, without power, strategies or support.
Guatemala has every rigth to demand that Mexico adresses this problem, because the mexican problem is already in Guatemala, it has crossed the borders. It is creating a drug war among rival mexican gangs in Guatemala. Already the numbers of atrocious murders related to the war among narco rivals is spiraling out of control, the gruesome pictures the carbonized bodies of 15 nicaraguans in a burned bus are a very grafic proof of what is going on. Even the internationl Press is finally paying attention to this issue: BBC, CNN and Radio Netherlands have reported about this serious problem in recent days.
The BBC reports:By James Painter. BBC Latin America analyst. December 17.2008
Guatemala fears Mexico drug spillover.
The US justice department warned this week that Mexican drug gangs pose the biggest organised crime threat to the US. But Mexico's southern neighbours are also increasingly worried by the drug trafficking threat. Concern is particularly acute in Guatemala, amid fears that the burgeoning presence of Mexican drug traffickers is adding another layer of violence to a country already ridden by crime............
By Pablo Gámez*16-12-2008
Guatemala: new centre of the drugs trade.
Guatemala finds itself in a stranglehold between Mexican and Colombian drugs cartels. Guatemalan Vice-President Rafael Espada didn't mince his words in an interview with Radio Netherlands Worldwide: the authorities can't cope with the level of organised crime that the drugs trade has created. One of the criminal organisations is believed to be responsible for a recent bus attack in which a Dutch tourist was among the dead. ...........
CNN. International. December 5th. 2008. Mexican drug cartels infiltrating Guatemala. By journalist Patzy Vasquez
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (CNN) -- Mexican narcotraffickers are gaining an increasing presence in Guatemalan territory. That was made clear Sunday, when at least 18 people were killed in a face-off between members of a local cartel and a Mexican cartel in a frontier zone between Mexico and Guatemala............
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