VZCZCXYZ0019
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTG #1329/01 3631449
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 291449Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY TEGUCIGALPA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1382
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 8193

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 001329 
 
FOR INL/LP KATHRYN MCLAIN AND MAYRA AHERN 
FOR WHA POSTS - PASS to NAOs and Merida Coordinators 
USAID for Donnie Harrington 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR KCRM KJUS EAID PREL HO
SUBJECT: HONDURAS: December 2009 INL Monthly Report 
 
¶1.  Summary: Regional Corrections Advisor visited the correctional 
training facility in Xalapa, Mexico and attended the Third 
International Graduating Class in New Mexico Correction Department's 
Training Academy located in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Frontier Police 
captured six members of a dangerous criminal gang posing as 
policemen.  NAO personnel met with officials from the Canadian 
Embassy to discuss potential opportunities for Honduras anti-crime 
programming.  The annual end use monitoring process continued in 
several police units.  End summary. 
 
 
-------------- 
Prison Reforms 
-------------- 
 
¶2.  Regional Corrections Advisor (RCA) visited the correctional 
training facility in Xalapa, Mexico and met with the Central America 
Prison Coordinator and the Correctional Advisor of Mexico.  One of 
the issues discussed was the possibility of using the training 
facility in Xalapa to train cadets from other Central American 
countries in the six-week correctional officer training and the 
one-week train-the-trainer instruction.  Within the framework of the 
regional corrections project, the USG will continue with plans to 
assist Honduras in establishing a viable penitentiary training 
academy at Tamara through upgrading the training facility and 
conducting some of the specialized trainings. 
 
¶3.  RCA attended the Third International Graduating Class at the New 
Mexico Corrections Department's (NMCD) Training Academy in Santa Fe, 
New Mexico.  Cadets from Guatemala and Mexico participated together 
for the first time in a six-week correctional officer training 
program. 
 
--------------------------- 
Border Control/Interdiction 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4.  The Frontier Police, part of the National Directorate of Special 
Services Investigation (DNSEI) captured six members of a criminal 
gang named "the Police Gang" ("La Banda de los Policias") on 
December 14 in the vicinity of the police checkpoint of Pavana on 
the Panamerican Highway in the department of Choluteca.  The 
criminals are members of the 18th Street Gang, and were posing as 
police officers from the National Directorate of Criminal 
Investigation (DNIC) to carry out robberies, kidnappings and 
assassinations.  These gang members are allegedly responsible for 
the murder of a DNIC investigative agent on December 13, 2009.  At 
the time of the capture, the suspects were carrying -weapons, 
including the personal weapon assigned to the agent who was 
murdered; they were also carrying police identification vests and 
were in possession of two stolen vehicles. 
 
------------ 
Gang Program 
------------ 
 
¶5.  Post completed the recruitment and polygraphing of 13 candidates 
for the anti-gang component of the ICE Honduras Vetted Unit, a joint 
Narcotics Affairs Office (NAO)-DHS/ICE effort.  Six agents were 
selected and approved by the National Police (HNP) to transfer into 
the Vetted Unit in January.  Four agents will work on transnational 
gang cases, focusing efforts on the leadership of MS-13 and 18th 
Street.  (Note: This unit represents a significant achievement 
towards NAO's Gang Program goal of standing up a vetted anti-gang 
unit.  End note) 
 
¶6.  Post completed developing a list of encrypted radio 
communications equipment that will be provided to the DHS/ICE Vetted 
Unit.  The equipment was selected to be compatible with equipment 
Post is also purchasing for DEA's Vetted Unit, for the express 
purpose of facilitating joint operations between the two agencies in 
Honduras. 
 
¶7.  Post delivered the final tranche of funds to the NGO umbrella 
foundation FOPRIDEH, which in turn supports three local NGOs 
(including YMCA) in working with youth at risk.  FOPRIDEH has 
requested an extension through February for finalizing this project 
to address education setbacks associated with extended public school 
teacher strikes in opposition to the June 28 coup d'etat.  Embassy 
employees have visited the project sites and determined project 
results to date have been tangibly positive. 
 
¶8.  NAO personnel made two site visits, one to the YMCA project and 
another to a successful Honduras Red Cross vocational education 
project, both in neighborhoods of Tegucigalpa, accompanying the 
President of the Honduran Red Cross Society.  Red Cross has 
expressed interest in INL funds supporting their vocational program, 
which is aimed at youths at highest risk of gang involvement - 
jobless, no primary education and not currently enrolled in school. 
GOH funding for the Red Cross program was cancelled by the de facto 
regime. 
 
¶9.  NAO has received, reviewed and returned one new concept paper 
for supporting a campaign to reach at-risk youths.  One is intended 
for Post's model precinct community of Chamelecon, a neighborhood in 
San Pedro Sula.  The second proposal, which would focus on youth 
involvement in the increasingly-violent soccer fan clubs, known as 
"barras bravas," was presented by former ECA-sponsored Cultural 
Envoy and hip-hop artist George Martinez of the Global Block 
Foundation.  To date, NAO has reviewed three pre-proposals for 
projects working with at-risk youth.  Irish NGO GOAL also provided 
an updated concept paper.  Poloff and Embassy Anti-gang Project 
Manager met with GOAL staff to provide feedback towards reaching a 
final version by January 1. 
 
¶10.  NAO assisted SOUTHCOM Military Information Support team (MIST) 
in employing Miskito language translators to review anti-trafficking 
posters and mass media materials for use in Gracias a Dios 
Department.  NAO received a teaching guide in Miskito from Embassy 
Managua for DARE drug awareness and resistance programs that will be 
carried out in Gracias a Dios. 
 
---------------- 
Other Activities 
---------------- 
 
¶11.  Poloff and NAO personnel met with Tania Clements, Development 
Officer of the Canadian Embassy to discuss potential opportunities 
for Honduras anti-crime programming.  Clements explained that the 
Government of Canada will implement an Anti-Crime Capacity Building 
Program (ACCBP) in three regions of interest: South America, Central 
America and the Caribbean.  The ACCBP will consist of USD 10 million 
in 2009-2010 and USD 15 million per year thereafter.  The program 
will coordinate law enforcement and criminal justice capacity 
assistance to target countries in the regions, complementary to the 
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade's 
Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building Program and the Global Peace and 
Security Fund.  The ACCBP will provide assistance for projects in 
the following areas: Illicit Drugs, Corruption, Human Trafficking, 
Migrant Smuggling, Money Laundering, Security System Reform and 
Crime Prevention. 
 
12  Training Specialist continued with the End Use Monitoring visits 
to different police units based in Tegucigalpa.  During the visit to 
the Joint Information Center (Centro de Informacion Conjunto 
(CEINCO)), personnel assigned to this unit informed the Training 
Specialist that with the suspension of USG assistance since the June 
28 coup, CEINCO is experiencing difficulties in the performance of 
its daily activities, given the lack of IT equipment. 
 
LLORENS