US drug aid.

The US has pledged US$16 million in drug aid to Guatemala, reports AP (Feb. 10, 2009). Guatemalan Interior Secretary Salvador Gandara says the money will fund training for police officers and investigators and help to improve air and sea surveillance. Stephen McFarland, the US Ambassador to Guatemala, says 200 to 300 tons of cocaine pass through Guatemala on the way to the US each year. The funds are part of the Merida Initiative, a US$1.3 billion anti-drug aid package approved by the U.S. Congress in June. The aid will go to Central America, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Mexico.