US Marines Mission In Central America Shrouded In Mystery

An upcoming mission of the U.S. Marines to Central America has given rise to many speculations. Bereft of any special codename, the mission by a fairly big contingent of marines seems to be in mystery. Being spearheaded by the U.S. Southern Command, with a stated focus to expand the reach of a new expeditionary outfit at the U.S.-run Soto Cano air base in Honduras, the mission is variedly interpreted by different sources.

The hub of operations will be Sota Cana airbase, which the locals call as “Palmerola”, 50 miles north off Honduras’ capital Tegucigalpa. The U.S had been using the outpost in Central America as the resupply site to aid the Nicaraguan Contras in the 1980s and later on as a training site for friendly militaries and reconnaissance flights to chase down the drug mafia.

It is almost clear that the marines will stay for a minimum of 6 months in different Central American locations, making the U.S deployment the longest in the region. A sizable section of the Marines will also be going to Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize. Drawn from the II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, the team will be back on the U.S. soil, after the hurricane season gets over, according to Army Col. Lisa Garcia.

Many Missions

One mandate of the mission will be to train friendly forces in Central America to enhance capacity in handling disaster mitigation efforts, which the U.S. military is promoting in many southern hemisphere countries. Another agenda is to gather a big picture of the drug induced crime scene in the so-called Northern Triangle comprising Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

According to statistics from the UN, Honduras is the most violent nation on the planet with its record of 90 murders per 100,000 citizens. It is unheard of even in combat zones. But, in Guatemala the rate is still better at 40. It may be mentioned that even in the combat zones of as Afghanistan or Congo, the murder rate is less than 30 per 10, 000 population. According to sources, about 190 of the deputed Marines will travel to Honduras, backed by a team of Navy medics.

Deputy Southern Command commander, Army Lt. Gen. Kenneth Tovo said the special unit’s ground element will also offer “regional training including maritime and river operations.” He told a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that the unit’s air wing and logistics unit will be “working with our partners to repair schools and other facilities.” Capt. Armando Daviu, spokesman for Southcom’s Marine subsidiary in Miami, compared the marine mission to that of the multinational effort undertaken in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.

Checkmating Russia

Some military analysts also see the marine deployment as a response to checkmate the rising Russian influence in the region. According to Central America expert Douglas Farah, El Salvador may see an undisclosed number of Marines deployed to de “Russian-ize” its weapons systems. In general parlance, the Marine presence would look like a signal “that the United States still cares to train militaries that they feel are relatively OK,” said Farah.

However, Latin American scholar Bruce Bagley is gravely suspicious of the U.S mission and said the move follows the Obama administration’s request to Congress to fund billion in developing the region to shore up the “deteriorating situation in Central America,” which is pushing children to cross over to the United States.

(For feedback/comments, contact the writer at k.kumar@ibtimes.com.au)