Of the countries on the isthmus Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama stand out as countries that are causing "great concern" in this matter.
From the report by the US State Department: "International Narcotics Control Strategy Report Volume II - Money Laundering and Financial Crimes" March 2015:
Costa Rica
Transnational criminal organizations increasingly favor Costa Rica as a base to commit financial crimes, including money laundering.
In Costa Rica scanners donated by China in 2008 remain unused, while exporting businesses are warning of the growing infiltration of drug trafficking in the sector.
Using scanners at the ports of Limon and reactivating inspection mechanisms that were used before to control cargo in containers, are part of the measures the agro-export sector is asking of the government in order to identify potential drugs hidden in shipments of merchandise.
The CICIG has shown that in practice the private financing of candidates and political parties is anonymous, unlimited and uncontrolled, and that 25% of it comes from drug trafficking.
From the introduction of a report by the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), "FINANCING OF POLITICS IN GUATEMALA"
The relationship between money and politics is a problematic topic that has been addressed both in the field of philosophy and political science, aS well as in public debate. In the academic world, this issue has been addressed in arguments that show how detrimental it is to the social and political order that the same people and groups that concentrate economic power also concentrate political power, and therefore what is sought and prefered are institutional designs which contribute to keeping the two spheres separate. However, both in societies with consolidated democracies and countries in the process of democratizing, the decisive influence of groups with economic power has been maintained or increased.
Drug trafficking organizations send shipments to Europe in containers loaded mainly with agricultural products.
The Business Alliance for Secure Commerce (ASBC) is warning about activities practiced by criminal organizations, such as that in April 2014 when drug filled containers were seized in Europe, having come from Costa Rica. Exporting companies have had to pay more in order to implement controls and prevent filtration by criminal groups.
"If the calculations made for Guatemala in 2013 and 2014 are taken as a reference for other Central American countries, the volume of illegal trade in the region, could be between 3.4% and 4% of GDP".
"If the calculations made for Guatemala in 2013 and 2014 are taken as a reference for other Central American countries, the volume of illegal trade in the region, could be between 3.4% and 4% of GDP".
The Global Financial Integrity report places Costa Rica and Panama in positions 14 and 18 in the list of countries that moved the largest flows of illegal money in the world between 2003 and 2012.
EDITORIAL
The report entitled "Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2003-2012" by Global Financial Integrity, said that between those years, the flow of illicit money in Costa Rica exceeded $94 billion, about $30 billion more than the amount accumulated between 2001 and 2011, according to reports from the same institution in mid-2013.
The amendments made to the law against money laundering exclude the media from the list of subjects required to report transactions.
With this amendment passed in the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador's, the Law Against Money and Asset Laundering will be only oblige financial institutions to report to the Finance Unit of the Attorney General cash transactions of $10 thousand or more and other formats when they are over $25,000.
A retailers union has submitted to the government a number of measures aimed at combating the smuggling of goods and informality in the commercial sector.
The Union of Retail Sellers, recently created by the Enterprise Chamber of Commerce and Services -Cecoms- has submitted proposals to combat the illegal entry of goods into Guatemala.
Customs fraud and smuggling goods have affected retail companies for years , for which reason, the CACIF has created the Union of Retailers, comprising of supermarkets, appliance stores, importers of beverages and liquor, sellers of tobacco, electronic appliances and computers.
Due to failures in the operation of the 7 radars already installed, the government has decided to suspend implementation of the $120 million project with the Italian company Selex, a subsidiary of Finmeccanica.
From a statement issued by the Presidency of Panama:
The Government of the Republic of Panama, in its goal of protecting the interests of the Panamanian government, has decided to suspend development of the radar project being carried out by the company Selex of the Finmeccanica conglomerate due to "serious deficiencies in the performance of the installed equipment."
Sooner or later, the growing momentum in all of the States of the Union to legalize marijuana will motivate the federal government to remove the ban on its use.
EDITORIAL
As noted by Juan Carlos Hidalgo on his blog on Elfinancierocr.com "... Today, after more than 40 years of continuous failures, we are witnessing the collapse of the international drug war, which has cost the continent hundreds of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives."
The two nations have been included in the list of countries with deficiencies in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.
The Financial Action Group, assigned to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development noted that Panama and Nicaragua are in breach of the recommendations that the agency provides to improve controls for preventing money laundering in the financial system.
"If the consumption of a product is legal, so is its trade." Although the Guatemalan proposal to free up export of of the drug will surely kick up some dust, its logic is unassailable.
Editorial
The legalization of marijuana in Uruguay and the U.S. states of Colorado and Washington has opened a door for a proposal by Guatemala to legalize its production and export.
Costs will increase for exporters because of attempts to prevent their containers of fruits, tubers and ornamental plants exported to Europe from being used to transport drugs.
In Europe seizures of drugs hidden in Costa Rican agricultural exports have concerned the agro-export sector, which is demanding greater security controls and processes in shipping goods overseas, both for the measures carried out in the country as well as those carried out once borders have been crossed, explained industry representatives.
At the same time as maintaining strong cooperation ties with the United States in the fight against drug trafficking, Nicaragua is carrying out naval exercises with the Russian Navy.
An article on Actualidad.rt.com reports that "... Russia and Nicaragua carried out these joint exercises in the Caribbean Sea in recent days in order to help combat illicit trafficking of drugs and put an end to the use of Central America as a main transit corridor.
Drug trafficking and gangs are the main factors responsible for intentional murders in the most violent countries in the world: Honduras, Belize, El Salvador and Guatemala.
According to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime at the United Nations (UNODC), in 2012 Honduras recorded 90.4 killings per 100,000 inhabitants.
In Belize, the homicide rate is 44.7 per 100 thousand inhabitants, in El Salvador it is 41.2, and in Guatemala is 39.9.