Central America Regional Security Initiative

The Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) is a US foreign security assistance program for Central American countries – Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama – that provides equipment, training, and technical support for law enforcement efforts, and programs intended to strengthen each country's long-term capacity to handle security issues and their underlying conditions. CARSI was initially part of the Mérida Initiative, which included Mexico and Central America, established in 2008 by President George W. Bush. Under Barack Obama, CARSI was created as a standalone program in 2010.

Background

In 2007, President Bush traveled to Mexico and Central America. During the trip, drug trafficking and the rapid rise in crime and violence were the main discussion topics. The openness of the respective governments to addressing these issues led to Bush creating a security assistance package, named the Mérida Initiative. Obama and Congress relaunched the Central American part of the Initiative in 2010 as CARSI.

Objectives and implementation

The US Department of State stated five main goals for CARSI:

1. Create safe streets for the citizens in the region.
2. Disrupt the movement of criminals and contraband within and between the nations of Central America.
3. Support the development of strong, capable and accountable Central American governments.
4. Re-establish effective state presence and security in communities at risk.
5. Foster enhanced levels of security and rule of law coordination and cooperation between the nations of the region.

Most of the funding is managed by the Department of State and the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Other agencies and sub-agencies involved in program implementation include the Department of Defense (DOD); the Department of the Treasury; the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); Customs and Border Protection (CBP); the Coast Guard; the Department of Justice (DOJ); the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT).

Programs

In the area of law enforcement and counternarcotics, CARSI efforts included equipment and investigative support. In Guatemala, helicopters were provided to allow security forces rapid access to hard-to-reach areas. FBI-led Transnational Anti-Gang (TAG) units were established in several countries. Investigations have been undertaken into money laundering, cash smuggling; and trafficking in drugs, weapons, and people.

Various programs addressed strengthening law enforcement and justice institutions for the long-term. These include: assessing and creating community policing, forensic labs, wiretapping centers, and criminal investigation schools; establishing intelligence-gathering systems; and training and technical assistance for prosecution and court and prison management.

Prevention programs, addressing underlying causes, included providing educational, recreational, and vocational opportunities for at-risk youth. Implementation focused on the local municipal level, with over 120 community outreach centers created.

Funding

In fiscal years 2008 to 2011, the State Department provided $361.5 million in assistance to Central American countries through the Mérida Initiative and CARSI. Through 2012, the largest share of funding was divided between the "northern triangle" countries of Guatemala (22.5%), Honduras (17.3%), and El Salvador (16.3%), followed by Panama (10.4%), Costa Rica (6.9%), Belize (3.9%), Nicaragua (3.9%), and regional initiatives (19.6%); after 2012, the State Department did not make public the distribution breakdown, but reported that the northern triangle continued to receive the majority of funds. For fiscal 2024, the Biden administration requested $341.3 million for CARSI.

Results

As of 2015, little information on the impact of CARSI had been made publicly available. Some evaluations indicated positive results in particular communities. Overall, security indicators at the country level had not shown significant improvements. In 2023, a Congressional Research Service report noted about the broader region: "In the past few years, U.S. assistance efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean have expanded as many countries ... have seen setbacks in long-term development and new challenges have emerged. Socioeconomic conditions began to stagnate in many Latin American and Caribbean countries around 2015 ... These conditions deteriorated sharply in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic swept away more than a decade of development gains. Political conditions also have deteriorated as governments in Venezuela and Nicaragua have entrenched authoritarian rule ... These challenges have contributed to political unrest and large-scale migration flows throughout Latin America and the Caribbean."