Peace Corps
As a Mexico Style "Drug War" is launched in Central America, US and US Allied Security Forces are increasing participating in police actions in Central America. On February 7, Oliver Garza, a high level State Department Security Advisor took up residence in the US embassy in Honduras. Garza comes to Honduras from the State Department agency most directly in charge of US security operations in Colombia and Mexico, and in 2002 his name was associated with a scandal in which 3,000 AK-47's were shipped from the Nicaraguan National Police to Colombian AUC paramilitaries.
Honduras is hot, mountainous and about the size of the state of Louisiana. According to the United Nations, the Central American nation is also the world's most violent country. A mix of drug trafficking, political instability and history has contributed to a murder rate that is now four times that of Mexico. The Peace Corps has withdrawn its volunteers. Contributing to the volatility are the police themselves.
