US embassy cable - 05TEGUCIGALPA719

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 000719 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR WHA/PPC, WHA/CEN, INL/LP, PRM/PRP, AND EB 
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KCRM, KJUS, EPET, KDEM, SNAR, HO 
SUBJECT:  Central American Presidents Hold Summit on Gangs: 
Call for Greater USG Assistance and Highlight Deportations 
 
 
1. (U) Central American Presidents held a one-day summit in 
Tegucigalpa on the issue of gangs.  The presidents also 
addressed the issues of high oil prices, democracy in 
Nicaragua, and the Pope.  On gangs, the presidents urged 
greater U.S. financial and technical assistance to combat 
the gang problem and claimed the USG needed to provide more 
information about gang members deported from the U.S. 
Ironically, the summit was held the same day a Bureau of 
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) 
meeting of Central American INL offices was held in Panama 
to discuss gang issues and USG assistance efforts on the 
subject. 
 
2. (U) The declarations of the presidents can be found on 
the Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs website at: 
http://www.sre.hn/protempore(percent)2023/cum bresjefesdeesta 
dosica.html 
 
3. (SBU) The GOH invited the USG at the last minute to send 
a representative to the summit, but the USG declined to do 
so.  It now appears a follow-on summit will be held in 
Honduras at the end of April to further discuss this issue 
and that and invitation for U.S. participation will likely 
be extended. 
 
4. (SBU) EmbOffs briefed a Los Angeles Times reporter on 
background April 1 to provide the U.S. perspective on the 
issue of gangs.  Post's Department of Homeland Security 
(DHS) Attache also clarified that DHS gives the names, dates 
of birth , reasons for deportation from the U.S., and a 
summary of any prior criminal activity of all deportees to 
Central American governments, and again upon arrival, prior 
to their deportations from the U.S. 
 
5. (U) Post notes that deportees in Honduras are processed 
through the Centers for Returned Migrants at the airports in 
Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, run by Honduran Immigration 
and the Catholic Church, which until relatively recently 
received funding from the Bureau of Population, Refugees, 
and Migration (PRM) via the International Organization for 
Migration (IOM). 
 
Palmer