MORE AID SOUGHT IN C.AMERICA TO HEAD OFF DRUG-FUELED CRIME

WASHINGTON -- Central American nations, fearful that a massive new
counter-drug aid package for Mexico will push drug traffickers into
their region, are seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from the
United States in law enforcement assistance, according to diplomats
and U.S. government officials.

The Bush administration has proposed just $50 million in counter-drug
assistance for Central America as part of a $550 million aid program
for Mexico known as the Merida Initiative.

Central American countries argue that they need much more help and
that traffickers may move into their countries as Mexico clamps down.
Already, the region is reeling from some of the worst-ever drug violence.

"We see the $50 million as a positive initial first step," said Rene
Leon, El Salvador's ambassador to Washington. "But clearly, they are
insufficient given the (security) needs of the region."

The Bush administration and many lawmakers are sympathetic to the
Central American plight, though many consider the countries too small
and poor to absorb vast quantities of sophisticated U.S. law
enforcement equipment. One U.S. official noted that the economy of
Nicaragua is the size of Lebanon, Pa.

Between 2000 and 2006, Central America received just $140 million in
U.S. counter-drug aid -- a fraction of the more than $4 billion
provided to Colombia over the same period under the program known as
Plan Colombia.

Negotiations for more U.S. aid to Central America are in an early
stage, but some diplomats from the region are suggesting at least $500
million.

Honduran Ambassador Roberto Flores said the Bush administration is
expected to dispatch missions to the region in the coming months to
determine security needs. He said the negotiations began last year but
are only now picking up as Congress prepares to debate the Merida
Initiative and weigh Central American countries' commitment to better
intra-regional security coordination.

Flores said the countries are targeting organized crime, arms
trafficking and gang violence. "In these three areas, Central America,
for its geopolitical position, shares interests with Mexico and the
United States," he said.

Under the Merida Initiative, the Bush administration is proposing a
three-year $1.4 billion program, to provide helicopters and other
equipment plus training, mainly for Mexico. The initial $550 million
is to be included in an Iraq and Afghanistan supplemental funding bill
that Congress is expected to debate in February or March.

News media attention on violence among drug traffickers has focused on
Mexico as Mexican President Felipe Calderon has called in federal
troops to curb gangs that have turned portions of the country into
killing zones.

But drug-fueled violence also is pervasive in Central America, which
suffers from a combustible mix of poverty, gangs and vast rural areas
with little police presence.

The Miami-based U.S. Southern Command estimates gang membership in
Central America at 70,000, most of it in Guatemala, El Salvador and
Honduras. Homicide rates in Guatemala and El Salvador are among the
highest worldwide, according to U.N. data.

Cocaine originates in Colombia and is transported to Honduras, Belize
and Guatemala, where it's then shipped to Mexico and the United
States. "Central American officials feel that they will not be able to
confront threats effectively without more assistance," according to a
Dec. 21 report to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by minority
staff member Carl Meacham, who was contacted by Central American
officials in Washington and during a recent trip to Mexico.

"They fear that gang members and drug traffickers will flee Mexico for
Central America, where it will be easier to operate."