[The following are excerpts from a statement before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Washington, DC, May 8, 2008.]
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before this Subcommittee today to discuss the Central America portion of the Merida Initiative and the opportunity it represents for regional security cooperation among not only the countries of Central America but also with the United States and Mexico.
Drug trafficking, gang violence, crime, and human smuggling, all linked to Central America, now directly afflict many areas of the United States, while arms and cash flows move south across our border and through Mexico to …