Latin American Police Receive Training Here

APPROXIMATELY 800 law-enforcement officials from across Latin America are in Costa Rica this month for a three-week seminar addressing the issue of legal and illegal arms trafficking in the region, according to the Public Security Ministry.

The event was inaugurated on Monday – just days after Costa Rican Legislator Rolando Laclé, president of the Legislative Assembly’s Permanent Foreign Relations Committee, said a U.S.-fundedInternationalLawEnforcementAcademy (ILEA) in the country had been virtually nullified because of its potential military character (See separate story).

The training course is a product of a joint effort by the Public Security Ministry and the UnitedNationsCenter for Regional Disarmament, and is supported by the University for Peace and the International Police.

Officials attending the seminar will receive training on techniques of arms identification, as well as the role arms trafficking plays in terrorism and drug trafficking, according to the Public Security Ministry.

Public Security Minister Rogelio Ramos said Costa Rica was chosen as the location for the seminar because of its longstanding democratic civil tradition and because the University for Peace is located here.