VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGT #1418/01 3442238
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 102237Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0577
INFO WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/USCBP WASHINGTON DC
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC
RUEADRO/HQ ICE DRO WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 0142
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 001418 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
PLEASE PASS TO USAID/LAC/CAM KSEIFERT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR PGOV KCRM GT
SUBJECT: Embassy Guatemala: November 2009 Merida Report 
 
REF: A) 09 STATE 114752; B) 09 GUATEMALA 1272; C) 09 GUATEMALA 1254 
D) 09 GUATEMALA 1346; E) 09 GUATEMALA 857; F) 09 GUATEMALA 740 
 
¶1.      (SBU)  In response to ref A, Post submits the information 
below detailing Embassy 
 
Guatemala's Merida activities for November 2009. 
 
 
 
Issues for Washington 
 
 
 
¶2.      (SBU)  Allocation of Merida funding continues to be 
inconsistent and slow.  Some Embassy 
 
programs are still awaiting funds, including the Narcotics Affairs 
Section's (NAS) counter-narcotics program and U.S. Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement's (ICE) vetted unit.  Post requests 
Washington's assistance in ensuring the speedy allocation of Merida 
funds. 
 
 
 
¶3.      (SBU)  The Embassy continues to work closely with the 
Public Ministry and is impressed by 
 
its commitment to prosecuting corrupt officials and criminal 
organizations.  Merida funds should continue to support this 
institution and improve its capacity to act as an effective USG 
partner. 
 
 
 
Internal Developments 
 
 
 
¶4.      (U)  The security situation in Guatemala continues to 
deteriorate.  Recent press reports 
 
have noted the emergence of Local Citizen Security Groups (Juntas 
Locales de Seguridad Ciudadana).  These groups, made up of armed 
civilians who are frustrated with the security situation in their 
communities, are operating in rural departments, such as Quiche, 
Chimaltenango and Solola.  The groups advocate vigilante justice 
and have acted out violently against police and suspected 
delinquents.  For example, on November 16, a police office was 
beaten to death in Chimaltenango for allegedly trying to extort 
money from a bus driver.  On November 27, in Solola, a large group 
of locals murdered three suspected extortionists who had allegedly 
killed a bus driver and a passenger.  The police in Solola 
initially resisted the group's attempts to recapture the three from 
police custody; however, the mob responded by setting three police 
cars and a motorcycle on fire.  The police eventually abandoned 
their posts fearing for their safety and the three captured, 
including a 16-year old boy, were taken to a nearby park where they 
were covered in gasoline and burned alive (septel). 
 
 
 
¶5.      (U)  Moreover, the murder rate in Guatemala continues to 
climb.  Homicides have 
 
increased six percent over this time last year and overall crime, 
including thefts and home invasions, are expected to rise as the 
holidays approach and Guatemalans receive their Christmas bonuses. 
 
Implementation Activities 
 
 
 
¶6.      (U)  The following implementation activities have taken 
place during November 2009: 
 
 
 
-          USAID Merida funding was retained under a Congressional 
hold for more than a year. 
 
Currently USAID is in the final phase of reviewing/evaluating 
implementation proposals for its primary Merida activities: The 
Community Action Fund, Youth at Risk crime prevention and Community 
Based Policing.  The award for implementation should be granted in 
December of this year, with operations and Merida activities 
beginning in January 2010.  On November 17, the Ambassador and 
President Alvaro Colom, joined by local authorities, announced that 
USAID Merida funding will be used to support communities near 
Coban, Alta Verapaz in combating serious crime. 
 
 
 
-          NAS ordered equipment, valued at approximately 812,000 
USD, to support the Automated Fingerprint Identification System 
(AFIS).  The equipment has been put out for contract in Washington. 
 
 
 
 
-          NAS requested equipment and communications gear, valued 
at 80,000 USD, for the anti-gang unit (PANDA), the Collection, 
Analysis and Dissemination of Criminal Information Unit (CRADIC), 
and the Villa Nueva and Mixco model precincts. 
 
 
 
-          Merida funds, together with other funding, helped NAS, 
USAID, and the Commission Against Addictions and Drug Trafficking 
(SECCATID) train 35 police officers to implement a drug prevention 
program for children and youth who attend USAID's outreach centers 
in Mixco.  SECCATID, officers from Drug Awareness and Resistance 
Education (DARE), and the Police Athletic League (PAL) offered drug 
prevention, handicrafts and sports lessons to children and youth 
during a summer school program. 
 
 
 
-          Merida funding provided technical assistance and an 
expert consultant to assist in drafting the comprehensive Asset 
Forfeiture Law. 
 
¶7.      (U)  Post's Merida Initiative meeting was held on November 
¶18.   Post's Law Enforcement 
 
Working Group meetings were held on November 3 and November 17. 
 
 
 
Significant Merida Supported Host Nation Seizures 
 
 
 
¶8.      (SBU)  USG law enforcement participation and/or 
intelligence played an important part in 
 
seizures in November 2009: 
 
-          November 5 - Guatemala City International Airport: 
Seizure of $304,140.00 U.S. dollars (ref B). 
 
 
 
-          November 9 - Guatemala City International Airport: 
Seizure of 400,000 tablets of pseudoephedrine and loratadine (ref 
C). 
 
 
 
-          November 18 - Guatemala City International Airport: 
Seizure of 400,000 tablets of pseudoephedrine and loratadine (ref 
D). 
 
 
 
¶9.      (U)   As this is post's first monthly submission, we wish 
to highlight post's Merida-related successes: 
 
 
 
-          2004 to present - The NAS-funded Model Precinct utilizes 
a community policing model to increase citizens' confidence in the 
police. It has been extremely successful in Villa Nueva (a 
Guatemalan suburb) and as a result, will be replicated in four 
other locations (ref E). 
 
 
 
-          2007 to present -- USAID has supported the creation of 
five 24-hour courts where police, prosecutors, judges, public 
defenders, prison officials, forensic technicians and court 
administrators are co-located in one building and able to 
efficiently process offenders through the judicial system.  The 
24-hour courts are able to hold arraignments, order pre-trail 
detention or bail, and authorize arrest and search warrants.  NAS 
provided training to all 24-hour court personnel in the use of 
complaint forms and the Total Information Management System 
(SIPOL).  While this program is not supported with Merida funding, 
it provides a valuable tool for achieving Merida objectives.  With 
FY 2009 regular USAID program funds, USAID will work with the GOG 
to establish additional 24-hour courts in key areas of Guatemala to 
complement Merida activities.  In addition, the Embassy will 
support the establishment of the high impact courts to prosecute 
high profile cases, including Zetas and other drug trafficking 
organizations.  This court will also be financed with regular USAID 
program funds and will contribute to Merida objectives. 
 
 
 
-          February-July 2009 - ICE and NAS used Merida funds to 
train 32 anti-drug (SAIA) police stationed at the airport.  These 
trainings contributed to the seizures noted in para 7. 
 
 
 
-          September 2009 - Coordination between the anti-gang unit 
(PANDA), the wire intercept unit (UME) and the National Civilian 
Police (PNC) contributed to the arrest of 15 M18 gang members. 
This raid effectively dismantled a gang unit in Mixco, a Guatemalan 
suburb suffering from extortion and increasing violence (ref F). 
 
 
 
-          October-November 2009 - A group of four non-elite 
university students traveled to St. Michael's College in Vermont in 
October for an 8-week Undergraduate Intensive English Language 
program funded through the Merida Initiative.  Participants in this 
program represent a variety of departments and universities. 
 
-          October-November 2009 - Guatemalan prisons are extremely 
weak institutions that often allow gang members and others to run 
illicit operations from inside the prison using cell phones, and 
other means to communicate outside.  In addition, stereos, billiard 
tables, televisions, and other contraband are not confiscated.  NAS 
helped the GOG establish a more secure prison facility in Guatemala 
City by providing technical assistance from Colorado State 
Penitentiary officials, prison guard equipment, and communications 
gear.  This facility is now used for the most dangerous criminals. 
 
 
 
The Month Ahead 
 
 
 
¶10.  (U)  Below are post's planned activities for December 2009: 
 
 
 
-          The first English Access Scholarship Program classes are 
scheduled to begin in early 
 
December.  Half of the $800,000 English Access Program in Guatemala 
is being funded through the Merida Initiative.  All 700 students 
will be enrolled by the end of January 2010. 
 
 
 
-          The contract for implementation of USAID's primary 
Merida activities - The Community Action Fund, Youth at Risk crime 
prevention and Community Based Policing - should be granted in 
December 2009. 
 
 
 
-          NAS plans to procure software, valued at 100,000 to 
130,000 USD, to improve the computer systems at the CRADIC. 
MCFARLAND