•HRES 564 IH 
linked to the crime clearly illustrated to the international 
community the threat posed by violence in Central Amer-
ica; 
Whereas a May 2007 report by the United Nations Office on 
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) makes the case that Central 
American countries are particularly vulnerable to violent 
crimes fueled by drug trafficking and corruption because 
they are geographically located between the world’s larg-
est drug producing and drug consuming countries; 
Whereas 90 percent of the cocaine shipped from the Andes 
to the United States flows through Central America and 
thus contributes to increased violence on the Central 
American isthmus; 
Whereas Central American governments and United States 
officials have attributed a large proportion of the rise in 
violent crime in Central America to youth gangs, many 
of which have ties to the United States; 
Whereas UNODC estimates that there are 69,145 gang 
members in Central America; 
Whereas on June 7, 2005, the Organization of American 
States (OAS) passed a resolution to urge member states 
to support the creation of holistic solutions to the gang 
problem; 
Whereas Guatemala has experienced a surge in female mur-
ders during the past 3 years, with many of those murders 
allegedly committed by drug traffickers and other orga-
nized criminal groups; 
Whereas violence between partners, particularly violence by 
men against their wives or girlfriends, is widespread in 
Central America and an International Violence Against 
Women Survey comparing selected countries in Africa, 
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•HRES 564 IH 
Latin America, Europe, and Asia found that 60 percent 
of women in Costa Rica—often considered the least vio-
lent country in Central America—reported having experi-
enced domestic violence during their lives; 
Whereas the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the 
Western Hemisphere held a briefing and hearing on June 
26, 2007, on violence in Central America; 
Whereas the Guatemalan government and the United Nations 
signed a groundbreaking agreement in December 2006 to 
establish the International Commission Against Impunity 
in Guatemala (CICIG) which still must be approved by 
the country’s legislature; 
Whereas the Central American Integration System (SICA) is 
an inter-governmental organization formed in 1991 com-
prised of the following member states: Belize, Costa Rica, 
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Pan-
ama; 
Whereas SICA and the United States held their first ever 
Dialogue on Democratic Security in Guatemala City from 
July 16 through 18, 2007, which focused on gangs, drug 
trafficking, and arms trafficking; 
Whereas SICA and the United States signed an agreement 
at this meeting to improve intelligence sharing and polic-
ing and to institutionalize dialogue on regional security; 
Whereas this meeting was the first time in almost a quarter 
century that high level officials from the United States 
and all 7 Central American countries have met formally 
to discuss security issues; 
Whereas United States Assistant Secretary of State for West-
ern Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon announced at 
this meeting the United States Strategy to Combat 
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•HRES 564 IH 
Criminal Gangs from Central America and Mexico de-
signed to prevent youth from entering gangs and 
strengthen the fight against gang-related violence and 
other crimes; 
Whereas Assistant Secretary Shannon recognized at this 
meeting that youth gang delinquency ‘‘has profound so-
cial roots and our way of fighting it cannot only be 
through policing’’; 
Whereas the United States pledged $1,000,000 at this meet-
ing to help Central American governments draft a re-
gional strategy to fight youth gangs and drug trafficking 
and $3,000,000 to fund rehabilitation programs for 
youths in gangs; and 
Whereas an enhanced political commitment and cooperation 
between the United States and Central America on secu-
rity issues can help curb violence in Central America: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) crime and violence pose an increasingly seri-
ous threat to peace and stability in Central America; 
(2) officials from Central America and the 
United States should be commended for holding a 
historic meeting to discuss regional security strate-
gies; 
(3) the announcement on July 18, 2007, of the 
United States Strategy to Combat Criminal Gangs 
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•HRES 564 IH 
from Central America and Mexico should be com-
mended; 
(4) the President of the United States should 
follow through on commitments made in the United 
States Strategy to Combat Criminal Gangs from 
Central America and Mexico with concrete actions; 
(5) the commitment of funds by the United 
States to fight youth gangs in Central America is an 
important step forward and greater resources should 
be considered in the future to fight this problem due 
to its severity and its transnational nature; and 
(6) Central American and United States offi-
cials should be encouraged to meet on a regular 
basis to further cooperation in combating crime and 
violence in Central America. 
Æ 
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