Central America: ICITAP Joins State Department and Central American Leaders to Develop Criminal Investigations and Forensic Capacity

On June 16, the ICITAP-Central America advisory team delivered an extremely informative virtual presentation to 150 interagency and international partners about ICITAP’s history and current assistance work in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama. Since 2016, ICITAP has partnered with the Department of State (DOS) to support the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI). ICITAP provides capacity building assistance in the following areas: criminal investigations, forensics, internal affairs, and police academy development. ICITAP’s regional program supports various aspects of CARSI activities in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama. ICITAP’s program in Central America is based in the U.S. Embassy in Panama and funded by the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). ICITAP works closely with INL as well as with other components from the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. In addition to overviews and highlights of ICITAP’s work throughout the region by each member of ICITAP’s advisory team, testimonials were delivered by the Honduran Director of Criminal Investigations, the Director of Panama’s Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (IMELCF), the Acting Director of INL’s Office in Panama, and others. To watch the 50-minute video, go to:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnnrC2BY2PY&feature=youtu.be