Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice Praises Latin American Countries for Counterterrorism Efforts

While President Bush has been across the Atlantic, meeting with the leaders of the other seven members of the "G8," Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has been in Panama City, meeting with America's neighbors to the south, according to the U.S. State Department.

Bush's G8 Conference will naturally gain more media attention, as it includes the eight most powerful, industrialized Western nations of the world. But Rice's trip will strengthen cooperation between the governments of the Western Hemisphere, making America's ties to its regional neighbors stronger.

Rice spoke on the Panamanian television station Telemundo in praise of the counterterrorism efforts of the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay in the "tri-border region" where these three South American countries touch.

The three nations have recently created an intelligence center in the region, operating out of the Brazilian city of Foz de Iguacu. The Brazilians opened the center, and then extended invitations to its neighbors to participate. The purpose of the new center is to gather intelligence concerning terrorist fund-raising activities, gun and drug trafficking, and other illegal trans-border activities in the area.

Rice praised the cooperation between the countries. She said that the fight against terrorism must be international in scope if it is to succeed. She mentioned the recent uncovered terrorist plot against J.F.K. International Airport in New York as an example of the benefits of international intelligence-sharing and counterterrorism efforts. Several of the conspirators considered to be involved in that plot were from the Latin American countries of Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, and information from those countries was essential in uncovering the plot.