All amounts in U.S. dollars. Numbers in italics are estimates, usually based on the closest year for which data are available.

All amounts in U.S. dollars. Numbers in italics are estimates, usually based on the closest year for which data are available.

All amounts in U.S. dollars.

All amounts in U.S. dollars.

Document: U.S. Army Leads Multinational Peacekeeping Exercise in Guatemala

Program: Exercises

The U.S. Army is working hand-in-hand with the Central American Armed Forces Conference to enhance stability and cooperation throughout the region with their annual Peace Keeping Operations Exercise here.

The current three-week-long exercise consists of various training venues and culminates with a final command-post exercise Aug. 15-17 where students will get a chance to put into practice all the information and skills they learned during the annual Peace Keeping Operations Exercise

This is the third and final phase of annual exercises designed specifically for this region.

The conference, known as CFAC, is comprised of The Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras and was established approximately a decade ago.

This annual exercise equips CFAC troops with the knowledge and tools to effectively execute peacekeeping missions and respond to natural disasters, within United Nations standards, throughout the region.

During this 16-day phase, a class consisting of 86 students representing the various countries, learn everything from convoy and security operations to medical evacuation and public affairs procedures all within United Nations guidelines.

The exercise took approximately 3 months of coordination and planning and the team is already looking to plan future exercises, said Kempf. “Next year, the focus country will be Chile, and in 2011, it will be in Brazil.”

The overall goal is to enhance interoperability and improve security and cooperation of the people in the region

Document: Acting U.S. Surgeon General Visits USNS Comfort, Humanitarian Mission in Nicaragua

Program: Humanitarian and Civic Assistance

Teams aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) welcomed Rear Adm. Steven K. Galson, currently serving as the acting U.S. Surgeon General, as he came to visit Comfort and observe Continuing Promise 2009 (CP09) July 4 and 5 here.
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The admiral visited each of the medical, dental, veterinary and engineering sites Comfort teams will operate during the mission’s final stop here.
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The Continuing Promise mission has done much more than provide health care to the host nations. It has also provided training to improve responses to a potential natural disaster.

Document: Honduras-based U.S. Army Helicopters Supporting Continuing Promise Mission in Nicaragua

Program: Humanitarian and Civic Assistance

Joint Task Force- Bravo (JTF-B), a U.S. Southern Command task force based at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, sent both aircraft and personnel to the hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) in support of Continuing Promise 2009 (CP09).
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CP09 is a four-month humanitarian and civic assistance mission through Latin America and the Caribbean that partners U.S, military, NGO volunteers and host nation personnel to provide free medical, dental, veterinary, educational and engineering services and programs to communities throughout the region.
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“We brought two UH-60L Blackhawks and one HH-60 Blackhawk (MEDEVAC) from Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras,” said Army Capt. Charlie Hall, the officer in charge of the JTF-B contingent on the ship.
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JTF-B is transporting both Comfort personnel and patients, some from remote locations around Corinto, between the ship and the shore each day. This type of support is not new for the unit. Their mission is to support and conduct joint, combined and interagency operations to enhance regional cooperative security.

Document: Operation Smile Helps Children During Continuing Promise Mission in Nicaragua

Program: Humanitarian and Civic Assistance

Operation Smile, a worldwide children’s medical charity, is working hand-in-hand with U.S. military personnel, other non-governmental organizations, foreign nationals and host nation personnel aboard hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) as part of Continuing Promise 2009 (CP09).
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Operation Smile is providing physical examinations and reconstructive surgeries for children and young adults with cleft lips, cleft pallets and other facial deformities. The team pre-screened 93 patients and has planned 64 operations, said Carl Treleaven, an Operation Smile volunteer and former member of their board of directors.
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The Operation Smile team on board Comfort consists of 53 people, to include non-medical volunteers, plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, a speech therapist, nurses, a pediatrician, an orthodontist and others.
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The medical treatment facility on board Comfort offers 250 patient beds, eight operating rooms, X-ray machines, CT scanners, a pharmacy, dental suites, and physical therapy among other services.
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Operation Smile is not a stranger to this region; in the last 16 years, their medical volunteers have provided more than 4,200 exams and more than 2,000 surgeries in Nicaragua according to the organization’s officials.

Document: Continuing Promise Mission in Nicaragua Brings Sailor Back to His Roots

Program: Humanitarian and Civic Assistance

Tapia’s role during this mission is to work with local law enforcement to ensure medical staff and patients are in a safe environment at the medical sites set up by the CP09 team, coordinate crowd control so that most people can benefit from the services offered at these sites, and to make sure medical staff members have a translator available in order to perform at their maximum capacity.

Document: FY 2010 Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign Operations

The objective of U.S. foreign assistance to Nicaragua is to partner with the Nicaraguan government, institutions, and civil society to encourage broad-based economic growth, and to close the gaps in basic education, health, and infrastructure services. The United States will focus on increasing food security through advances in agricultural production, infrastructure, and sales in 2011. Finally, the United States will work with the Government of Nicaragua (GON) to foster regional security, strengthen its capacity to respond to transnational threats, and reinforce the professional stance of the Nicaraguan military.

Peace and Security: U.S. assistance for effective law enforcement and military modernization in Nicaragua is critical to national efforts to control its remote territories and to combat narcotics, gang violence, illegal trafficking and transnational crime. U.S. assistance will increase the military’s capacity to participate in international peacekeeping operations, improve its capability to respond to natural disasters and conduct search and rescue operations, and increase its maritime security capability. The United States has historically also been a lead donor for land mine removal. It continues to support the destruction of Nicaragua’s remaining Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS). The Army and National Police have largely remained independent, non-political forces, although police actions following the November 2008 municipal elections have raised concerns that the government is increasing its control over the National Police. In the Atlantic coastal region, the Nicaraguan military is the first and only responder to drug traffickers. The Nicaraguan navy leads other Central American navies in drug seizures. These institutions face challenges from criminals who seek to increasingly operate with impunity. With its porous borders and endemic poverty, Nicaragua is highly vulnerable to the influence of well-financed drug trafficking organizations. U.S. assistance will be used to provide boat spare parts, maintenance and aviation support, and support for the modernization of the Nicaraguan military, helping it to establish control over remote areas. This will be accomplished through information-sharing, training, and supplying vessels to Nicaraguan law enforcement counterparts. As part of the Merida Initiative, the United States will provide assistance through the Western Hemisphere regional program to improve the capabilities of both the Nicaraguan Navy and the Nicaraguan National Police, which have achieved impressive narcotics interdiction numbers in recent years, providing training for law enforcement personnel and supplying key hardware for interdiction, transnational crime, and anti-gang programs. The United States will also support land mine victim assistance programs and activities related to MANPADS destruction.

Governing Justly and Democratically: U.S. assistance will focus on maintaining democratic space and strengthening critical democratic processes and practices that promote rule of law, democratic political parties, transparent and accountable elections, an open civil society, free media, and an independent judiciary. These activities will complement those expected to be carried out under the Merida Initiative, including activities targeted towards communities vulnerable to crime. U.S. programs will include strengthening civil society; improving local governance through greater community participation and ownership in municipal decisions coupled with increasing responsiveness from municipal governments; and strengthening and diversifying coalitions for legal reforms to defend democratic space and advocate for an independent judiciary. An infrastructure program will complement the municipal governance program, thus providing incentives to participating local governments and strengthening democratic practices through increased community participation, ownership, and action. To promote political party competitiveness, U.S. assistance will support political party strengthening and election reform in the run-up to the Nicaraguan Presidential elections in November 2011. U.S. assistance will also support youth organizations to help build a culture of democracy and re-engage them in the political process. Finally, U.S. programs will help strengthen the independent media.

The path to better governance in Nicaragua relies on the empowerment of citizens and the strengthening of civil society organizations at both local and national levels. A true democracy will emerge only if organized civil society and other key democratic institutions gain the strength they need to exert effective pressure on the actions of political players. The U.S. intends to use FY 2010 funds to expand its support for civil society, media, political parties, professional associations, and other actors who seek to promote the balance of powers, and to maintain democratic space in Nicaragua in the run-up to the 2011 national elections. New governance activities will support a core group of local non-governmental and public sector associations to strengthen civil society advocacy and involvement in municipal decision-making. An increased number of associations receiving support will be achieved through the expansion of governance activities to more municipalities using increased FY 2010 funds.

During the lead-up to Nicaragua’s municipal elections in November 2008, the United States provided small grants to civil society organizations (CSOs) and media outlets for 35 projects aimed at promoting democratic citizen participation in the elections, and organized community leader forums in 15 key municipalities. The forums generated candidate commitments to slates derived from community priorities. National NGOs fielded hundreds of watchers outside the voting centers who documented illegal practices, including harassment of and assault on opposition representatives and supporters.

U.S. assistance to local and national CSOs sustains and bolsters their efforts to keep democratic space open and ensure continued participation in electoral contests. Increased FY 2010 resources will strengthen CSOs’ ability to address critical electoral reforms, follow up on election irregularities, and prepare for the Nicaraguan Presidential elections in 2011.

Investing in People: The United States will help improve access to quality health services, including health promotion and prevention, with special attention to Nicaragua’s geographic and socio-economic equity issues. U.S. assistance will improve pre-service training and curriculums in medical and nursing schools, and will strengthen the institutional capacity of public and private sector clinics and non-governmental organizations. Family planning activities will focus on reaching the underserved with high-quality voluntary services. Nicaragua will receive funding to support the national HIV/AIDS strategy and the goals of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The HIV/AIDS assistance will concentrate on prevention of HIV/AIDS among the most at-risk populations. In education, USAID assistance will focus on improving the quality in primary education through enhanced teacher training at schools and major national universities, including the incorporation of the model school/active learning approach. The United States will narrow its model school program to a select group of schools to assure the continued availability of “centers of excellence” for training teachers and testing the model. The United States will also strengthen the policy environment supporting innovation, including the use of standardized testing.

Economic Growth: Trade capacity building activities will help maximize the country’s benefits under the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) while minimizing to the extent possible the reverberations of the 2009 world financial crisis. The focus will be on improving the competitiveness of small- and medium-size enterprises in all markets. In Nicaragua, food security issues continue to center on the availability of and the ability to purchase sufficient and nutritious food. The United States will expand its agricultural program to eliminate barriers to market-led agricultural development; diversify crops; and leverage resources for rural infrastructure in areas such as water, transport and energy. U.S. assistance will target businesses and agribusinesses, seeking to create new job opportunities in industry and the service sectors and to form alliances and linkages up and down the value chain. In environment, U.S. programs supporting market-based environmental conservation will focus on building strong horizontal and 637 vertical linkages in sustainable tourism and environmental service sectors. U.S. infrastructure program will complement ongoing programs with targeted and complementary investments in productive infrastructure such as energy, roads, irrigation or food collection centers. Civil society participation will play a prominent role in these activities.

Nicaragua has a small, open, but fragile economy with balance of trade deficits, in which agriculture is the principal source of income for half of the population. It has benefited from CAFTA-DR. U.S. programs range from macro policy and business environment to direct assistance to producers and small entrepreneurs, with the core objective of helping Nicaraguans benefit from increased trade and economic growth opportunities. The United States will advance CAFTA-DR’s complementary policy agenda by helping the GON draft, vet and present five new bills to the National Assembly. A new Trade Capacity Building (TCB) activity will provide targeted and in-depth assistance to a core group of businesses and enterprise service providers in order to improve competitiveness in local and regional markets. The increased resources in FY 2010 for trade and investment will fund a 57 percent increase in the number of enterprises assisted as a result of expanded TCB activities.

Economic and social infrastructures are critical elements of national growth and development, and the quality of infrastructure in Nicaragua is among the lowest in Central America. Two-thirds of its 16,932 kilometers of roads are in marginal or poor condition. Only 22.3 percent of Nicaraguan households have access to a 638 paved road. Only 55 percent of the population has access to electricity at the household level. The rural water and sanitation coverage are 65 percent and 82.5 percent (including latrines), respectively. Rural access to health and education services does not meet the national average, due in part to lack of adequate infrastructure for these programs.

FY 2010 resources will fund infrastructure activities in municipal governance, health, education, and economic growth. The funds shown here under the Infrastructure Program Area are expected to be invested in energy and transport activities. Given the timing of FY 2010 funds, the FY 2010 target is indicative of the number of beneficiaries in two communities.

With the extreme fluctuations in worldwide food and fuel prices in 2008, leading to widespread concern about food security for the world’s poor, Nicaragua, where agriculture is the principal source of income for half of the population, was proposed as one of six countries in Latin America to participate in the U.S.’s Food Security Initiative. Nicaraguan commercial producers benefit from rising prices; however, since almost half of the Nicaraguan population live on less than $2 a day, access to food is a major issue. In FY 2008, 92 percent of the targeted households were reached, owing to acceptable delays in the completion of small and medium-sized infrastructure investments. Additional resources in FY 2010 for agriculture will lead to increased benefits and expanded participation of rural households in this program. The FY 2010 target reflects the first year of the Food Security Initiative of the United States; higher targets are projected for out years.

Humanitarian Assistance: Nicaragua is prone to natural disasters, and has suffered from hurricanes, flooding, disease outbreaks and rat infestations in just the past three years. The United States will fund both preparatory and relief activities to facilitate immediate response activities when disaster strikes. These resources should be seen as seed resources, which would be greatly supplemented by resources and disaster response from the USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and the U.S. military in instances of major disaster.

Linkages with the Millennium Challenge Corporation In July 2005 Nicaragua signed a $175 million compact that aims to reduce poverty in the departments of Leon and Chinandega through promoting sustainable economic growth. The compact addresses three areas identified as the main barriers to growth in the two departments: insecure property rights, under-developed transport infrastructure, and low levels of value-added economic activity. By completion, the compact is expected to have designed 285 kilometers and built 80 kilometers of roads; helped 5,000 producers in Leon 639 and Chinandega increase incomes through the production of high-value goods in livestock, agriculture and forestry; improved local water management and watershed protection; and clarified the land tenure and title situation.

Document: Southern Partnership Station Returns to Nicaragua

Program: Exercises

High speed vessel Swift (HSV 2) anchored off the coast of Bluefields for the second time in as many months yesterday to begin a nine-day training mission during Southern Partnership Station (SPS).

Southern Partnership Station is an annual deployment of various specialty platforms to the U.S. Southern Command area of focus in the Caribbean and Latin America. The mission goal is primarily information sharing with navies, coast guards, and civilian services throughout the region. SPS is comprised of Navy training and support teams, Marine Corps training teams, foreign naval officers and civilian contract mariners on a Military Sealift Command platform.

While in the area, training teams from Navy Expeditionary Training Command, Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Marine Corps Training and Advisory Group will be teaching courses to members of the Nicaraguan Navy and Marine Corps. The courses provide instruction in boarding team tactics, armed sentry operations, port security, martial arts and small boat engine repair.

Document: International Narcotics Control Strategy Report

Bilateral Cooperation. The U.S. continues to support Nicaragua's efforts in interdiction, as well as encouraging it to undertake more fundamental challenges to corruption and money laundering. During 2008, the United States provided counternarcotics assistance to the NNP and continued funding to expand the NNP Vetted Unit, a unit that investigates international drug trafficking, corruption (with ties to drug trafficking and money laundering crimes only) and money laundering. The USG continued support to the Nicaraguan Navy by finishing the refurbishment of three large naval boats and providing engines, spare parts, and maintenance for several smaller patrol boats for maritime interdiction on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The USG also provided training in maritime law enforcement, small boat operations, maintenance and logistics, engineering and leadership to the Nicaraguan Navy in 2008.

Document: International Narcotics Control Strategy Report

Bilateral Cooperation. The U.S. continues to support Nicaragua's efforts in interdiction, as well as encouraging it to undertake more fundamental challenges to corruption and money laundering. During 2008, the United States provided counternarcotics assistance to the NNP and continued funding to expand the NNP Vetted Unit, a unit that investigates international drug trafficking, corruption (with ties to drug trafficking and money laundering crimes only) and money laundering. The USG continued support to the Nicaraguan Navy by finishing the refurbishment of three large naval boats and providing engines, spare parts, and maintenance for several smaller patrol boats for maritime interdiction on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The USG also provided training in maritime law enforcement, small boat operations, maintenance and logistics, engineering and leadership to the Nicaraguan Navy in 2008.

Document: International Narcotics Control Strategy Report

The USG hopes to continue its fruitful working relationship with the Nicaraguan military and law enforcement institutions and would encourage the GON to address issues that hamper its counternarcotics efforts. The continued politicization of the Nicaraguan judiciary at the highest levels is a worrisome impediment to serious law enforcement undertaking in Nicaragua. The GON should professionalize and de-politicize the judiciary and the Prosecutor General's office. The GON should also pass and implement stronger statutes to combat corruption, strengthen anti-money laundering controls, create an independent and effective FIU, and create an effective methamphetamine precursor control regime.

For its part, the USG will provide significant support in the coming year under the Merida Initiative—a partnership between the governments of the United States, Mexico, Central America, Haiti and the Dominican Republic to confront the violent national and transnational gangs and organized criminal and narcotics trafficking organizations that plague the entire region, the activities of which spill over into the United States. The Merida Initiative will fund a variety of programs that will strengthen the institutional capabilities of participating governments by supporting efforts to investigate, sanction and prevent corruption within law enforcement agencies; facilitating the transfer of critical law enforcement investigative information within and between regional governments; and funding equipment purchases, training, community policing and economic and social development programs. Bilateral agreements with the participating governments were in the process of being negotiated and signed at the time this report was prepared.