Central America Regional Security Initiative

The Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) is a US foreign security assistance program for Central American countries – Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama – that provides equipment, training, and technical support for law enforcement efforts, and programs intended to strengthen each country's long-term capacity to handle security issues and their underlying conditions. CARSI was initially part of the Mérida Initiative, which included Mexico and Central America, established in 2008 by President George W. Bush. Under Barack Obama, CARSI was created as a standalone program in 2010.^[1]