Good morning Chairman Engel, Ranking Member Burton, and
members of the Subcommittee. I am pleased to be here today
to discuss the FBI’s involvement in the Merida Initiative.
Modern gangs increasingly attempt to spread their influence
and operate across state lines and international borders.
Through years of experience in combating transnational organized
criminal groups, the FBI understands it is imperative we
work closely with our national and international law enforcement
partners to disrupt the illegal activities of these transnational
gangs and dismantle their violent criminal enterprises.
With this goal in mind, the FBI launched the Mara Salvatrucha
(MS-13) National Gang Task Force (NGTF) in 2004 to coordinate
and support local, state, federal, and international law
enforcement operations and prosecutions. Since that time,
the FBI has collaborated with law enforcement entities throughout
Central America in an effort to improve our knowledge base,
gather accurate and actionable intelligence, and improve
communication and coordination.
The Merida Initiative
The Merida Initiative enhances the Bureau’s long
standing efforts to enable Mexico and the countries of Central
America to build their capacity to fight organized crime
and drug trafficking, thus improving regional security and
stability. With the significant support and funding of the
Merida Initiative, which has allowed the FBI to sharpen its
focus on cross-border collaboration, the Bureau is better
equipped to investigate international criminal organizations
such as the MS-13 and 18th Street Gangs. These expanding
partnerships with our neighbors to the South have proven
to be especially fruitful in the following two contexts.
Transnational Anti-Gang Task Force
The FBI’s NGTF created and implemented, with funding
from the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF),
the Transnational Anti-Gang (TAG) Task Force to assist in
combating the growing threat posed by transnational gangs
and drug cartels in Latin America. The TAG combines the expertise,
resources, and jurisdiction of participating agencies involved
in investigating and countering transnational criminal gang
activity in the United States, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala,
and Mexico. The objective of the TAG is to aggressively investigate,
disrupt, and dismantle gangs whose activities rise to the
level of criminal enterprises. Through information sharing
and open communication with the participating countries,
the TAG is in a position to acquire and disseminate valuable
information previously unavailable to U.S. law enforcement
agencies. For example, as a direct result of close collaboration
with the Policia Nacional Civil of El Salvador, crucial leads
for a gang-related homicide investigation in Miami were developed,
and an individual arrested by U.S. authorities on immigration
charges was identified as being wanted for multiple homicides
in El Salvador. The TAG has extended the reach of U.S. law
enforcement and set a foundation for effective two-way communication
between participating countries.
Central American Fingerprint Exploitation Initiative
Another program specifically designed to enhance cooperation,
communication, and intelligence sharing throughout Mexico
and Central America is the Central American Fingerprint Exploitation
Initiative (known as CAFÉ). CAFÉ was developed
by the FBI to collect and store existing criminal biometric
data and fingerprint records from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Belize, and Honduras. Once acquired, biometric data and fingerprint
records are incorporated into the FBI’s Criminal Justice
Information Services (CJIS) database and made available to
all U.S. local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.
In addition, CAFÉ enables the participating countries
to conduct digital fingerprint identification and analysis
though the provision of hardware and training.
Since May 2006, the FBI has compared over 60,000 criminal
fingerprints from Mexico, El Salvador, and Belize to U.S.
fingerprint databases. Analysis has shown that almost ten
percent of the individuals associated with these records
have had contact with domestic law enforcement entities.
Of the 50,000 fingerprint records from El Salvador for example,
4,300 records were positive matches in our databases. Sharing
such information across our borders is crucial for effective
transnational investigations.
Intelligence Sharing and Coordination
To maximize the benefit from the above discussed initiatives,
the FBI has coordinated the implementation and administration
of the following intelligence sharing vehicles.
Law Enforcement Online (LEO)
The FBI’s NGTF administers a LEO website providing
user-friendly anytime and anywhere electronic communication
which offers secure transmission of sensitive but unclassified
global intelligence. The NGTF has a LEO Special Interest
Group that allows authorized LEO subscribers to securely
share information, view NGTF initiatives, support investigative
operations, send/post notifications and alerts, exchange
intelligence, review MS-13 global trends, view/download NGTF
intelligence products and PowerPoint presentations, add subscriber
comments/suggestions, review specialized training, obtain
resources, have real time secure discussions, as well as
many other functions. This website allows secure communication
between the applicable law enforcement entities in the United
States and the participating agencies in Central America.
Officer Exchange Program
The FBI has partnered with the Los Angeles City Mayor's
Office, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office (LASO), the Los
Angeles Police Department (LAPD), and the Policia Nacional
Civil (PNC) of El Salvador to develop an international exchange
program designed to enhance information/intelligence sharing
and encourage constructive discourse with regard to best
practices in gang investigation and dismantlement.
Specifically, officers of the PNC gang unit, Centro Antipandillas
Transnacional (CAT), will be assigned to LAPD and LASO for
30 days, participating in training and organized periods
of observation with each agency. The schedule will include
familiarization with community policing programs, youth recruitment
prevention initiatives, gang enforcement and patrol, gang
member identification and database configuration, and task
force design and management.
National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC)
The FBI led NGIC is comprised of representatives from numerous
law enforcement, intelligence, and defense agencies. As a
result of its far reaching bandwidth, the NGIC is a critical
tool for the sharing of information. Intelligence derived
from the above discussed initiatives and programs is provided
to NGIC for analysis and dissemination. In addition, NGIC
officials input transnational gang member data into the Violent
Gang Terrorist Organization File (VGTOF) to ensure the widest
possible dissemination of intelligence concerning these violent
gang members.
Among the primary consumers of NGIC generated intelligence
is the Gang Targeting, Enforcement and Coordination Center
(GangTECC), a multi-agency center co-located with NGIC designed
to serve as a critical catalyst in a unified federal effort
to disrupt and dismantle the most significant and violent
gangs. Senior GangTECC investigators come from the FBI, the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA), Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE), the United States Marshals Service (USMS) and the
Bureau of Prisons (BOP). These investigators work together
to achieve maximum impact at the national level against the
most violent gangs in this country.
OCDETF Fusion Center
The FBI is a member of the OCDETF Fusion Center, which
was developed to collect and analyze drug trafficking and
related financial investigative information and to disseminate
investigative leads throughout the FBI and to other OCDETF
participants.
Conclusion
The Merida Initiative has fostered greater information
sharing and collaboration between the United States, Mexico,
and the countries of Central America. The programs discussed
above, as well as others, will continue to provide a better
understanding of the gang problem on a regional level. Combating
violent crime and gangs is a priority of law enforcement
throughout this hemisphere. By working together through these
partnerships, we are creating a force multiplier to make
use of combined resources in the most effective way possible.
Thank you Chairman Engel and members of the Subcommittee
for the opportunity to testify today concerning this important
initiative. I am happy to answer any questions you may have.
Congressional
Testimony
| Press Room Home
|