Status of Funding for the Central America Regional Security Initiative

provided agencies with definitions from GAO’s A Glossary of Terms Used in the Federal
Budget Process and asked agencies to provide the relevant data according to these
definitions. 3 To the extent possible, we worked with agencies to ensure that they provided
data that met these definitions. Because FMF funds are budgeted and tracked in a different
way than the other CARSI accounts, we collected information on CARSI FMF allocations
and commitments. We reviewed funding data and documents from State and USAID and
interviewed relevant agency officials regarding these documents and data, including the
reliability of data provided by these agencies. For the purposes of this review, we
determined that the data provided were sufficiently reliable. We conducted work on this
correspondence as part of a broader review of CARSI. We will complete that review, which
will include updated information on the status of CARSI funding, later in 2013. See
enclosure III for a complete description of our scope and methodology.
We conducted our work from August 2012 through January 2013 in accordance with all
sections of GAO’s Quality Assurance Framework that are relevant to our objective. The
framework requires that we plan and perform the engagement to obtain sufficient and
appropriate evidence to meet our stated objectives and to discuss any limitations in our
work. We believe that the information and data obtained, and the analysis conducted,
provide a reasonable basis for any findings and conclusions in this product.
Background
In 2007, President George W. Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderón announced the
Mérida Initiative, a multiyear assistance package to Mexico and Central America, to help
address increasing violence and criminal activity, especially from drug trafficking
organizations and other criminal organizations. Under the Mérida Initiative, the United States
funded programs in Central America for capacity building and other support to improve law
enforcement institutions, promote economic and social development, and conduct
interdiction training. According to a report by the United States Senate Caucus on
International Narcotics Control 4 and other reporting, the security situation in Central America
has deteriorated in recent years as Mexican drug trafficking organizations, transnational
gangs, and other criminal groups have expanded their activities, contributing to escalating
levels of crime and violence. Violence is particularly high in El Salvador, Guatemala, and
Honduras, with homicide rates among the highest in the world.
Recognizing these evolving threats, in 2010 the Obama administration separated the
Central America portion of the Mérida Initiative and renamed it CARSI. CARSI is designed
as a collaborative partnership between the United States and the region, focused on
meeting the needs of the region. The five primary goals of CARSI are to:
• create safe streets for citizens in the region;
• disrupt the movement of criminals and contraband to, within and between the nations
of Central America;
• support the development of strong, capable, and accountable Central American
governments;
• re-establish effective state presence and security in communities at risk; and
• foster enhanced levels of security coordination and cooperation between the nations
of the region.
3 GAO, A Glossary of Terms Used in the Federal Budget Process, GAO-05-734SP (Washington, D.C.: Sept.
2005).
4 United States Senate Caucus On International Narcotics Controls, Responding to Violence in Central America
(Washington, D.C: Sept. 2011).
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GAO-13-295R CARSI Funding