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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEGUCIGALPA 000353 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SOUTHCOM FOR GENERAL SPIERS 
DEPT for INL DAS D. JOHSON AND INL/LP F. PALMIERI 
DEPT FOR WHA A/S T. SHANNON AND WHA DAS D. ROBINSON 
DOD FOR DASD F. MORA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SNAR PREL SOCI KCRM KJUS EAID MOPS MARR HO
SUBJECT:  Mission Integrated Strategy to Fight Crime and Illicit 
Trafficking in La Mosquitia 
 
¶1. Summary and Background: The Mosquitia is a huge swath of 
territory accounting for nearly 20 percent of Honduras' land mass on 
the eastern border with Nicaragua.  The area is swampy, undeveloped, 
difficult to access and virtually uninhabited (only 60,000 people), 
which over the centuries has made the area a haven for pirates and 
smugglers.  Today it is becoming a major operational platform for 
international traffickers of drugs, arms and people.  As there are 
few employment opportunities, the traffickers are emerging as 
benevolent providers for the community.  The remoteness of the area 
and difficult terrain creates major mobility and logistical 
difficulties for both law enforcement and the Honduran Armed Forces 
(HOAF), to the benefit of the traffickers.  Criminal organizations 
have found that the authorities (including law enforcement, HOAF, 
prosecutors and judges) that live in the area are easy to corrupt. 
The GOH has ignored this area, not providing adequate 
infrastructure, schools, and health facilities.  The result is that 
the Mosquito, indigenous people, and Garifuna communities are among 
the poorest and most marginalized in Honduras.  With unemployment 
and poverty rates high, the local population feels neglected and has 
little incentive to cooperate with the authorities. 
 
¶2. Summary Continued:  The GOH shares our concerns about the 
difficult situation in La Mosquitia.  Using the policy and resource 
framework provided under the Merida Initiative, we have agreed to 
work on a bilateral integrated strategy to strengthen the 
operational capabilities of the security forces and law enforcement 
officials, as well as spur greater development, jobs and growth 
opportunities in La Mosquitia. Since October 2008, Ambassador and 
Mission officers have traveled with GOH civilian, police and 
military counterparts to the region several times.  These visits, 
which have included inaugurating health clinics, schools and 
highlighted other development initiatives, have been positively 
received by the region's leaders and the people and  have sent a 
strong public message of our bilateral commitment to the local 
community.  In our engagement, we have listened carefully to 
community leaders and other stakeholders and discussed the best way 
the GOH and USG can be supportive.  For example, recently we 
responded to community requests for assistance by providing hospital 
beds donated by U.S. charities for a health clinic we built and an 
orphanage run by U.S. citizens.  We also delivered food donated by 
the Italian government and held a widely publicized ceremony 
presided over by the Ambassador and the Minister of Defense to hand 
over four go-fast boats to the Honduran Navy, two of which will be 
stationed at the naval base at Barra de Carratasca in La Mosquitia 
to assist in the fight against narcotrafficking.  The Embassy 
believes that progress can only be achieved through the immediate 
adoption of an integrated and focused strategy that involves GOH 
Ministries and U.S. Mission agencies at post.  To this end, post has 
developed the following strategy for how to wage a more effective 
fight against criminal elements and take back La Mosquitia. 
 
¶3. Summary continued: Post's interagency strategy for La Mosquitia 
brings together an integrated bilateral approach to partnering, 
prevention, interdiction, and law enforcement.  Agencies, such as 
USAID, will focus on the prevention side, working with partner GOH 
agencies and the private sector to bolster health and education and 
create economic and employment opportunities for the people. 
Embassy sections are teaming with GOH counterparts to improve 
interagency and intergovernmental coordination and communication. 
The Public Affairs Section will be tasked with creating a 
comprehensive message to the Honduran people and the residents of La 
Mosquitia to publicize our efforts and make them partners in our 
efforts.  And finally, we will work hand-in-hand with the various 
Ministries in the GOH to see how we can facilitate their efforts to 
shine attention on this traditionally neglected part of Honduras. 
End Summary. 
 
¶4. OVERVIEW: Under the auspices of the Merida Initiative, the USG 
has initiated a multiagency/ multinational effort against gangs, 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000353  002 OF 009 
 
 
organized crime and illicit trafficking in Honduras and the region. 
Within this broad effort, this strategy aims specifically to combat 
organized crime, gangs and illicit trafficking in Honduras.  One of 
the prime battlegrounds in this effort is La Mosquitia/Gracias a 
Dios region. 
 
¶5. BACKGROUND: La Mosquitia has become infested with illicit 
trafficking and high levels of criminality.  The absence of adequate 
infrastructure, inaccessibility by Honduran law enforcement and 
military, small population and high poverty and exclusion levels 
have made it relatively easy for traffickers to influence and begin 
to wrest control of the area from central government control.  The 
Honduran military lacks the resources to control the area, and the 
police and judiciary are spread thin, poorly trained and susceptible 
to threats and bribes.  The growing infiltration and control of this 
remote region by the drug trafficking organizations has the 
potential to destabilize the rest of Honduras and spill over into 
neighboring countries such as Nicaragua.  La Mosquitia is a critical 
corridor for the shipment of illicit drugs, arms, contraband and 
people into the United States.  These networks also constitute a 
threat that could potentially be exploited by violent extremist 
organizations bent on targeting the United States. 
 
¶6. OBJECTIVE: The U.S. Mission in Honduras, working in tandem with 
the Honduran government, will pursue a two-country, multiagency 
strategy to combat illicit trafficking and its deleterious effects 
in the La Mosquitia/Gracias a Dios region of Honduras.  Our efforts 
in La Mosquitia will serve as a primary effort in our battle to 
fight illicit trafficking in greater Honduras and the region. 
 
¶7. METHOD: The complex and extremely challenging nature of the 
illicit trafficking menace in La Mosquitia region requires a 
long-term, comprehensive solution consisting of aggressive 
partnering, prevention and interdiction. 
 
      ¶A. Partnering: The U.S. Mission will pursue a comprehensive 
approach that leverages all available agencies and resources.  We 
will partner first with the government and appropriate institutions 
and civil society organizations of Honduras.  For this strategy to 
be effective, the people and government of Honduras must be in the 
lead. To that end, we will work with Honduras in an active but 
supportive role, advising, assisting and enabling, while taking 
pains to ensure that Honduras is actively captaining the effort. 
Beyond this crucial partnership, the U.S. Mission will coordinate 
with other appropriate and effective government and nongovernment 
organizations to include the Departments of State (POL, ECON, 
USAID), Defense (DAO, MilGroup, and JTF-Bravo), and Justice (the 
Drug Enforcement Agency), Homeland Security (CBP and ICE. Crucially 
important, we will consult and partner with Miskito and other 
community leaders, including the Miskito President MASTA, village 
elders, religious leaders, mayors and others to refine our strategy, 
govern our actions and craft strategic messages. 
 
      ¶B. Prevention: With the conviction that preventing illicit 
trafficking is much more effective and desirable than attempting to 
combat it once established, the U.S. Mission team will work 
steadfastly with the GOH, donor nations, development banks, NGOs, 
and U.S. citizen and church groups to create an environment 
conducive to legitimate economic activity and sustainable 
development. 
 
      ¶C. Interdiction: Even as we carry out our robust prevention 
efforts, we must work in tandem to aggressively combat the ample 
illicit trafficking activities in and around La Mosquitia that 
already exist.  These interdiction efforts will be focused on 
finding, disrupting, arresting, and prosecuting illicit traffickers 
and trafficking. 
 
¶8. ENDSTATE:  The desired result of our partnering, prevention and 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000353  003 OF 009 
 
 
interdiction efforts is to substantially reduce the activities and 
influence of international illicit drug and criminal organizations 
and assist the Honduran government in securing control and authority 
over La Mosquitia for the benefit of its citizens. 
 
¶9. SPECIFIC AGENCY ACTIONS 
 
¶A. U.S. Agency for International Development: 
----------------------------- 
In La Mosquitia, organized crime and the narcotics trade are 
undermining local institutions, spawning lawlessness, distorting the 
economy, and discouraging legitimate investments.  It is assumed 
that this threat can be mitigated if some of the internal structural 
weaknesses in the region are addressed and concerted efforts are 
made to strengthen community organizations and local governance. 
USAID plans to implement a community-based approach towards the 
provision of basic social and productive infrastructure in La 
Mosquitia.  To strengthen communities in the area, USAID will 
utilize established partnerships with the Ministries of Governance, 
Health, and Education; Fondo Hondureo de Inversisn Social (FHIS), 
the GOH social safety net program; local governments and 
communities; and NGOs.  For example, USAID will support the efforts 
of municipalities to create educational and job opportunities, 
improve health services, build community infrastructure, and promote 
community values.   Illustrative activities include: 
 
- Improved obstetric and neonatal care and family planning services 
at the regional hospital and clinics, including the clinic built by 
the DOD in Tansin. Work with Ministry of Health to assign a doctor 
to this clinic. 
 
- Improved educational and health facilities, security, street 
lighting, and safer parks and public spaces, through small 
community-led infrastructure projects. 
 
- Reduced violence and increased citizen participation in local 
governance, through the establishment of an alternative dispute 
resolution center, a civic education project, and a social 
auditing/oversight project. 
 
- Improved access to vocational education for at-risk youth and to 
primary and secondary education, through both the formal education 
system and an alternative radio program for out-of-school youth. 
(Research done by Save the Children shows that youth who have either 
not attended primary school or dropped out have higher probabilities 
of becoming gang members.  In contrast, completing primary school 
reduces the probability of becoming a gang member to 8% and 
completing the 9th grade reduces the probability to only 1.6 %.) 
Vocational education will focus on workforce development 
opportunities related to services and trades that are in short 
supply in the region (i.e. mechanics, electronics repair, restaurant 
cooks, tour guides, etc.). 
 
- Growth of rural enterprises increased, including (1) value-added 
agriculture and agro-processing (eg, cassava, batana, rice, cacao, 
fish, etc.), (2) sustainable forestry and value-added wood products 
(eg, certified wood, artisanal furniture, guitar parts, etc.) and 
(3) tourism and related services (eg, eco-lodges, restaurants, 
sports fishing, bird watching, river/forest excursions, regional 
cultural activities, etc.). 
 
- Increased micro loans for local businesses and farmers through the 
Development Credit Authority loan guarantee project in conjunction 
with NGOs and local banks. 
 
- Increased partnerships with private sector associations to enhance 
long-term strategic planning on Mosquitia development, as well as 
public/private partnerships to increase private investment in key 
sectors in the region. 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000353  004 OF 009 
 
 
 
- Reduced energy costs and improved access to reliable energy 
supplies through the utilization of small-scale, renewable energy 
sources - wind, solar, biogas, micro-hydro. 
 
- Improved disaster preparedness and prevention, maximizing the 
involvement of at-risk youth. 
 
- Improved management of protected areas and communal forest lands 
to create opportunities for both tourist (short-term) and 
carbon-credit (long-term) related revenues. 
 
¶B. Economic Section: 
------------------ 
Partnering with USAID, GOH and communities of La Mosquitia, we will 
work to build community infrastructure, increase opportunities for 
legitimate business and commerce, and help create money-earning 
opportunities as an alternative to drug-related activities.  Focus 
first on ways to help La Mosquitia in economic capacity building and 
renewable energy. 
 
- Provide technical assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy 
(and private entities) on providing electricity to remote Mosquitia 
villages via small-scale off-grid wind and solar installations. 
 
- Contract trade and development expert to assess the export 
potential of La Mosquitia fisheries, agro-forestry and other 
products and advise local authorities and business groups on how to 
exploit these and other potential opportunities such as tourism. 
 
- Help the communities of La Mosquitia develop infrastructure in 
order to facilitate their access to markets in and outside of the 
region.  Determine how better transportation systems can be built, 
such as by air, boats/ferries, canals, and roads, and consider 
personal, commercial, and community transport. 
 
¶C. U.S. Military Group: 
-------------------- 
The Mil Group will partner with the interagency team, the Armed 
Forces of Honduras (HOAF) and other government and nongovernmental 
organizations; contribute to prevention by working to develop an 
environment less hospitable to trafficking; and support interdiction 
efforts - through building HOAF's ability to combat traffickers and 
trafficking as well as building interagency/international capacity 
to combat illicit trafficking. 
 
1) Partnering 
 
- The Mil Group will continue to partner with the HOAF to improve 
their ability to prevent, detect, interdict and disrupt illicit 
trafficking in La Mosquitia. 
 
- Encourage full operation of JTF-"Policarpo Paz Garca" in Puerto 
Lempira as a joint task force focused on integrating and 
synchronizing counter-trafficking efforts. 
 
- Work with the Estado Mayor Conjunto and each of the Honduran 
Services to improve interservice cooperation and operations 
involving the police. 
 
- Continue to invest in and leverage Conferencia de Fuerzas Armadas 
Centroamericanas (CFAC) to promote regional integration, 
interoperability and stability. 
 
- Leverage future Regional Air Surveillance System to detect illicit 
trafficking flights, combat trafficking networks and build 
intra-regional cooperation. 
 
2) Prevention 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000353  005 OF 009 
 
 
 
- Utilize the Military Information Support Team campaign to convince 
residents of La Mosquitia: that illicit trafficking is bad for 
Honduras, themselves, their children and their future; to reject 
criminals and criminal activity; to assist authorities by reporting 
illegal activity; and to support their government, police and armed 
forces. 
 
- Using Humanitarian Assistance Program funds, the Mil Group will 
synergize efforts with USAID in constructing and enhancing schools, 
clinics, orphanages and other similar facilities in the region. 
Examples of projects already completed include: Escuela La 
Fraternidad, Orphanage Mamatara and the Puerto Lempira Hyperbaric 
Chamber facility. 
 
- Work with the HOAF on community improvement and humanitarian 
projects so that the citizens of the area see them as being involved 
and part of the solution. 
 
- Provide training, equipment and funds for HOAF and COPECO and work 
with USAID and JTF-Bravo to respond to natural disasters and relief 
operations. 
 
- Work with HOAF and the Defense Attache to destroy obsolete weapons 
- especially those prone to proliferation. 
 
- Continue to emphasize professional military education for HOAF 
officers and noncommissioned officers to improve regional 
interaction and stability and to reinforce the principles of 
democracy, respect for human rights and civilian control of the 
military. 
 
3) Interdiction 
 
- Continue base construction and enhancement of forward 
counter-trafficking bases of Caratasca and Mocoron.  Construct CD 
base on Bay Island of Guanaja (which will complement counter-drug 
effort in La Mosquitia). 
 
- Provide key training and equipment to improve the HOAF's ability 
to detect and interdict illicit trafficking. Buy additional drug 
interceptor boats for the Honduran Navy and additional light 
observation aircraft for the Air Force to conduct coastal patrol. 
Equip select units with equipment such as night vision goggles, body 
armor and radios. 
 
- Fully exploit Operation Enduring Freedom - Caribbean and Central 
America program to train and equip select HOAF units in 
counter-narcoterrorism (CNT) operations. Continue key CNT training 
of the 1st Special Forces Battalion and increase training of the 
15th Special Forces Battalion, 1st Marine Battalion and Navy's 
maritime interceptor units.  Expand training with vetted COBRA 
police units to work with HOAF, DEA and JTF-B in counter-narcotics 
operations. When fully trained, work to bring select HOAF Special 
Forces and vetted Cobra units to La Mosquitia on TDY basis. 
 
- Invest in HOAF command and control capability and architecture. 
Equip and enhance the nascent Honduran counter-drug Joint Task Force 
"Policarpo Paz Garca" and work toward establishing it as an 
interservice/interagency organization capable of fusing joint 
intelligence and operations.  Operationalize a country-wide military 
communications net bought with Enduring Friendship funds to enhance 
joint command and control of operations. 
 
- Work with DEA, Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF-South), 
JTF-Bravo and HOAF to synchronize counter-drug operations.  Utilize 
newly purchased equipment, command and control systems and training 
to increase the effectiveness of combined CNT efforts in the 
region. 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000353  006 OF 009 
 
 
 
- Continue to improve logistics to serve as a force-multiplier of 
key equipment, especially forward-based counter-drug helicopters and 
interceptor boats in La Mosquitia.  Acquire HOAF refueling/logistics 
support vessels to support coastal drug interdiction operations. 
 
- Utilize Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff-sponsored 
international exercises to improve HOAF capability, provide 
"military presence" in select departments and build regional 
cooperation.  2009 CJCS exercises include: Tradewinds, Beyond the 
Horizon, Fuerzas Aliadas Humanitarias, PKO Americas, and Fuerzas 
Aliadas Panamax. 
 
¶D. Joint Task Force-Bravo: 
------------------------- 
JTF-B supports the Commander, US Southern Command's Theater 
Cooperation Strategy throughout Central America.  In Honduras, in 
close coordination with the Embassy Country Team and JIATF-S, JTF-B 
has focused much of its efforts in La Mosquitia to support the 
Counter-Narcoterrorism mission throughout this region. 
Additionally, JTF-B continues to support Special Operations Command, 
South (SOCSOUTH) in its execution of OEF-CCA.  Finally, JTF-B also 
supports US Army South in its execution of PANAMAX 2009, as it did 
for PANAMAX 2008, in the La Mosquitia/Gracias a Dios region.  JTF-B 
will support this by executing Exercise Related Construction (ERC) 
and numerous Medical Readiness Training Exercises (MEDRETEs) in the 
region.  Some of the highlights from above initiatives concentrated 
in La Mosquitia are: 
 
1) Counter-Narcoterrorism (CNT) Support 
 
- Assist with helicopter support and aviation-related training in 
the execution of CNT operations. 
 
- Assist with future basing of CNT aircraft at Soto Cano. 
 
- Re-furbish and fill fuel tank in Mocoron to extend reach and 
loiter time for CNT operations. 
 
2) OEF-CCA Support 
 
- Continue to provide helicopter support and aviation-related 
training for SOCSOUTH training with the HOAF. 
 
- Assist with positioning of SOCSOUTH-purchased mobile fuel tanks in 
Puerto Castilla and Caratasca. 
 
3) PANAMAX '09 Exercise Related Construction/ Medical Readiness 
Training Exercise Support 
 
- Establish Joint Task Force to command and control US and Partner 
Nation assets in Honduras for PANAMAX '09. 
 
- Execute approximately $155K in ERC funds in the Puerto Castilla, 
La Brea (Rio Claro), Mocoron, and Puerto Lempira areas according to 
US MILGRP priorities during PANAMAX 09. 
 
- Execute numerous MEDRETEs throughout the La Mosquitia/Gracias a 
Dios region during PANAMAX 09. 
 
¶E. Joint Interagency Task Force-South/Tactical Analysis Team: 
------------------------------ 
JIATF-South conducts counter-illicit trafficking operations, 
intelligence fusion and multi-sensor correlation to detect, monitor, 
and hand off suspected illicit trafficking targets.  JIATF-S also 
promotes security cooperation and coordinates Country Team and 
partner nation initiatives in order to defeat the flow of illicit 
traffic.  Under this broad regional mission, JIATF-South and the 
Honduras-based Tactical Analysis Team will: 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000353  007 OF 009 
 
 
 
- Support Honduran Joint Task Force elements (primarily Honduran 
Navy) with intelligence and information support provided by TATs, 
military, law enforcement agencies, partner nations and other 
agencies/organizations. 
 
- Continue to sponsor and support the Cooperating Nation Information 
Exchange Service (CNIES) communications network in both Barra de 
Caratasca and Puerto Castilla (which both conduct operations in La 
Mosquitia.) 
 
- Coordinate efforts with U.S. Navy, Coast Guard and other service 
assets (e.g. ships & Maritime Patrol Aircraft) while effecting 
"end-game," counter-narcotics operations. Employ a number of US 
airborne and maritime platforms to aid in targeting and interdicting 
highly mobile, constantly evolving illicit-trafficking targets. 
 
¶F. Drug Enforcement Agency: 
-------------------------- 
DEA will continue to commit agents and resources to 
counter-narcotics operations focused at disrupting and dismantling 
the drug trafficking organizations that are exploiting La Mosquita, 
especially those likely to result in criminal prosecutions.  These 
resources will be made available to the Honduran Police, the 
Organized Crime Prosecutor and the Honduran military. 
 
- The DEA Country Office together with JTF-Bravo and US military 
special operations trainers have completed initial training of the 
vetted Honduran Police Tactical Reaction Team (TRT),  readying this 
force for future interdiction operations in La Mosquitia.  DEA 
agents are ready to deploy to the region and accompany the vetted 
TRT for appropriate missions. 
 
- DEA & TAT are currently working with Mil Group to ensure 
coordination of La Mosquitia efforts. 
 
¶G. Department of Homeland Security/ Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement: 
---------------------- 
The ICE Assistant Attach, Tegucigalpa, works closely with the 
Government of Honduras to target transnational criminal 
organizations operating in La Mosquitia. 
 
- Specifically, the ICE Assistant Attache in conjunction with the 
GOH has formed a special investigative unit to investigate 
trafficking in persons, bulk cash smuggling, money laundering, arms 
trafficking, and sex tourism. 
 
- With proper resourcing, future ICE activities could include 
outreach to governmental and nongovernmental organizations within 
Honduras to bring attention to the illicit activities of the region 
and, in so doing, develop the necessary investigative leads which 
have proven effective in the dismantlement of criminal enterprises. 
 
 
¶H. Political Section: 
-------------------- 
The Political Section, through its International Narcotics and Law 
Enforcement program and Merida Initiative funds, will look at ways 
to help better equip the police, such as with motorcycles to help 
them patrol their area and computers that would tie them into the 
rest of the HNP network.  This equipment would assist them with 
enforcing the laws, building trust, and making the citizens of La 
Mosquitia feel safe.  We will also attempt to develop partnerships 
with local NGOs who work with at-risk youth, and use our 
anti-gang/at-risk youth money to fund programs to keep youth off the 
streets. 
 
¶I. Regional Security Office: 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000353  008 OF 009 
 
 
--------------------------- 
RSO's key role will be in supporting the increased activities of 
other mission members in La Mosquitia.  Through interaction with 
local police, RSO will also provide important security 
"atmospherics" and insight on conditions in the region. 
 
¶J. The Defense Attache Office and the Office of Regional Affairs: 
-------------- 
Utilizing extensive contact networks, DAO and ORA are uniquely 
capable of determining "ground truth," identifying promising 
strategies/actions and encouraging partner nation leaders to support 
unified GOH/USG efforts in La Mosquitia. Both DAO and ORA are key 
members of the La Mosquitia Working Group and the Strategic 
Communications Working Group. 
 
- Anti-corruption: ORA & DAO will take the lead in following up on 
the Minister of Security's desire to bring a special prosecutor and 
judge from Tegucigalpa to work narcotics cases in La Mosquitia. 
 
¶K. Public Affairs Section: 
------------------------- 
Communications and the right public messages are crucial major 
elements of our La Mosquitia strategy -- without which we cannot 
succeed.  Accordingly, PAS will play a pivotal role in the Strategic 
Communications Working Group (outlined in para. 10 below). 
 
- Work with press to draw attention to La Mosquitia, the crucial 
fight against illicit-trafficking and the positive contributions the 
GOH and United States are doing for Honduras.  Work to publish a 
series of articles in Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and key towns of 
La Mosquitia.  Do the same for radio and TV. 
 
- Continue to build on the success of the "American Corner" projects 
with new locations and by expanding existing corners. 
 
Note:  The Ambassador visited La Mosquitia on two occasions and 
inaugurated a Defense Department-funded school in Puerto Lempira and 
a health clinic in Tansin.  The Ambassador also broke ground on the 
construction project for the building of the Caratasca Naval base, 
attended the donation of a hyperbaric chamber for a health clinic 
and books for the American Corner in Puerto Lempira.  Both of these 
visits received prominent and positive media coverage in Honduras. 
 
 
¶10. STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: Strategic communications is a crucial 
major element of our La Mosquitia strategy, and is, in fact, 
instrumental to our success.  We must have a strong communications 
campaign to convince the citizens of La Mosquitia (and Honduras) to 
actively reject trafficking/traffickers and choose lawful, 
productive activities and lives. 
 
- We will form a Strategic Communications Working Group (SCWG) to 
craft a Strategic Communications campaign in support of our overall 
La Mosquitia objectives. Core members of the SCWG will include: PAS, 
ORA, Mil Group-MIST, JTF-B, DAO, POL, and USAID.  After completing 
the initial Strat Comm plan, the SCWG will meet at least monthly to 
review events, developments and update the overall plan of action 
with specific actions and products. 
 
- Among themes to communicate: drugs are illegal and destructive; 
drugs bring crime, violence, addiction, and low education rates; and 
drugs ultimately destroy Miskito/Honduran families and their 
futures. We must educate the populace to win them over.  We will 
publicize the positive contributions the GOH, HOAF and USG are 
making in the region. 
 
- As illiteracy is high, we will use multi media, especially radio. 
We will be careful to ensure the use of both Miskito and Spanish 
languages as appropriate. 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000353  009 OF 009 
 
 
 
- Outside of La Mosquitia, we will use the press to draw attention 
to the threat of traffickers in La Mosquitia as well as the plight 
of the Miskitos.  We will use these stories to encourage more GOH 
and NGO participation and interest in La Mosquitia.  Help GOH show 
La Mosquitia communities and their citizens that it cares more about 
them than the traffickers do. 
 
- Consult with Miskito and other community leaders to help craft our 
messages on what is important to the communities from which we seek 
to push out the illicit traffickers. 
 
- Encourage and facilitate frequent visits to the area by the GOH 
and HOAF, along with the U.S. Embassy, as they are a key part of our 
strategic communications strategy -- the visits show the communities 
of La Mosquitia that they are important to us.  It is also a key 
part of the GOH taking back control of their sovereign territory. 
 
¶11. COMMENT: Drug trafficking organizations have targeted La 
Mosquitia and its citizens.  The region is rife with massive 
shipments of Colombian cocaine.  Our key partner, the GOH, lacks the 
resources to control the region and defeat the problem, while the 
population of La Mosquitia remains isolated and unconvinced the 
traffickers are really the problem. 
 
Despite these and other constraints, we believe our strategy 
provides an opportunity to begin to turn the tide.  We will employ 
both preventative and enforcement efforts and leverage the resources 
and concepts under the Merida Initiative to improve our operational 
effectiveness and deliver a major blow to international crime and 
help support regional stability.  We also will develop performance 
measures over time to determine the level of success of this 
effort. 
 
Llorens