Brazil To Finance Guatemala Anti-Drugs
aircraft
Guatemala - Brazil will finance Guatemala's
purchase of six military airplanes and a
radar system to help it tackle a growing
threat from drug gangs within its borders,
Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom said on
Tuesday.
Brazil's state-run export bank BNDES will
fund the $99 million purchase with a 12-year
loan, Colom told reporters in the Guatemalan
capital during a visit by Brazilian
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The Super Tucano aircraft, made by Brazil's
Embraer (EMBR3.SA) (ERJ.N), are due to be
delivered within 18 months.
The turboprop airplane can be used in a
variety of roles ranging from pilot training
and airborne surveillance to ground attack,
according to the Embraer website.
"The most important thing is that we'll have
the same system as Colombia and Mexico so we
can better coordinate the security of our
borders," Colom told reporters.
Colom is cracking down on rampant police
corruption and violent crime as the country
battles increasingly well-armed and
organized drug cartels moving across the
border from Mexico.
He announced last week a $75 million
anti-crime initiative that aims to clean up
police forces and improve crime-fighting.
The impoverished nation is seeking aid from
foreign governments to help pay for the
program.
An average of 17 people are murdered every
day in Guatemala, a country of only 13
million which is one of the most violent in
Latin America. A United Nations backed
commission estimates that 98 percent of
crimes go unpunished. (Reporting by Sarah
Grainger; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
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