Central American leaders agreed Thursday to create a regional special forces unit to fight drug trafficking, gang violence and terrorism within their borders.

Wrapping up a two-day regional meeting, the leaders said they would also develop a Central American passport and common visa requirements for the region. The decisions were the latest steps aimed at integrating the region by opening borders from Nicaragua to Guatemala and working toward a free trade agreement with the United States and the Dominican Republic.

Honduran President Ricardo Maduro said each country will develop its section of the so-called rapid response forces, and then countries would begin joint operations. He also said countries were working to issue regional arrest warrants.

On Wednesday, Guatemalan President Oscar Berger called on the United States to help train and equip the force, but it was too early to say if Washington would play a role.

"Obviously, we need support from the institutions in the country that consumes drugs, which is to say from the United States," he said.

Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala have already integrated their customs systems, leaving only one common checkpoint at their shared border crossings and speeding the movement of people and goods.

US officials had expressed concern that opening the borders might also facilitate drug trafficking and other crimes. To ease concerns, Central American nations are developing common databases and improving their shared technology so they can track the movement of people and goods.

Deborah McCarthy, a senior State Department adviser who was part of a US delegation invited to Thursday's meeting, said that as Central America removes barriers between its nations, it must strengthen its outermost borders against crime and tighten security throughout the region.

"How they do that is up to them," she said.

McCarthy said security in the region was key, because it is a main route for drugs and illegal migrants and a home to thousands of gang members who move easily between Central America and the United States.

There have been unsubstantiated allegations that terrorists were using the region to possibly stage attacks against US targets, fueled in part by the fact that El Salvador is the only Latin American country left with troops in Iraq.

While there has been no evidence terrorists are operating here, officials said in a statement they wanted to work toward a common strategy to deal with "the eventual use of Central American territory by international terrorist groups."

Also Thursday, Central American leaders were developing a common plan for battling their growing gang problem, which began when the US began deporting Salvadoran gang members in the 1990s. Many of the gangs have become brutally violent, beheading their victims and, in Honduras, leaving bloody warnings for officials to halt tougher measures against them.

Mexico has been the latest to join the fight, saying it will toughen laws against gangs and begin actively cooperating with Central American law enforcement officials. US and Central American officials already share intelligence and information on gangs.

Protesters, angered by a proposal to create a Central American Free Trade Agreement that would include the United States and the Dominican Republic, camped overnight at security fences surrounding the hotel where the summit took place. They held up anti-free trade signs and shouted: "Gringos get out!"

On Wednesday, officials agreed to strengthen the rights of migrants heading north to the United States while fighting the smugglers who move thousands across borders, from Panama to the United States.

(Chinadaily.com via agencies July 1, 2005)