Guatemala and Honduras Presidents Hold Regional Security Talks

Above: Honduras President Porfirio Lobo Sosa and Guatemala President Otto Perez Molina

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Guatemala President Otto Perez Molina and Honduras President Porfirio Lobo Sosa met in Guatemala City Wednesday for talks focused on regional security.

The two sides placed a special emphasis on improving information exchange systems between both countries’ intelligence units.

“We addressed issues that are critical to the agenda of both countries, because we share common problems,” Perez Molina said.

Lobo called the meeting “very fluid,” with a commitment to move forward on trade and security issues.

The talks included issues of trade, particularly the idea of speeding up border crossings between the two countries.

On the security front, Perez Molina said it was imperative to “bring down the evils” that plague the Central American region.

Security and Defence ministers of both countries have recently met three times, he said, to address issues of strengthening regional security.

The Guatemalan leader also said he was not ruling out the creation of a border police force between the two countries.

Lobo and Perez Molina additionally discussed the latter’s high-profile proposal to legalize drugs in a bid to combat trafficking; the leaders pointed to the recent Sixth Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, when it was decided that the issue would pass through a technical committee for a “thorough” study of the potential implications.

Lobo returned to Honduras later on Wednesday.

Lobo was accompanied on the trip by his private secretary, Reinaldo Sanchez, and Security Minister Pompeyo Bonilla.

He is currently the President Pro Tempore of the Central American Integration System (SICA).

Both countries border the Caribbean Sea.