Costa Rica Now Part Of the Mérida Initiative
June 22nd, 2009 | by admin |Costa Rica is now part of the Mérida Initiative giving the country access to us$4.3 million dollars in anti-drug trafficking funding.
In his last public act as ambassador to Costa Rica, Peter Cianchette, signed the agreement Wednesday at Casa Presidencial, who will be heading home with his family to the US come Monday.
The Mérida Initiative is a security cooperation between the United States and the government of Mexico and the countries of Central America, with the aim of combating the threats of drug trafficking, transnational crime and money laundering. The assistance includes training, equipment and intelligence.
The money is expected to be used to purchase better equipment and the modernization of the Costa Rican coast guard, to fight the war on drugs. The participation in the initiative also allows the exchange of fingerprint information.
Cianchette declined to give an interview on his depature. Appointed in May 2008 by former US president, George W. Bush, Cianchette was instrumental in the implementation of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) or Tratado de Libre Comercio (TLC), as it is known in Costa Rica, and in providing aid to the recovery effort of the Cinchona earthquake of January 8 this year.
In the coming months, representatives of the US government will meet with Costa Rican officials to review the progress of the project and provide assistance in implementing monitoring of drug traffickers.
