Speeches and Statements

Remarks by Ambassador James M. Derham during Presentation of Refurbished A-37 Aircrafts to President Oscar Berger

Guatemalan Air Force, October 26, 2005

Good morning.

His Excellency,
President of the Republic of Guatemala, Oscar Berger,
His Excellency,
Minister of Defense, Major General Carlos Aldana,
Dear all,

On behalf of the United States Embassy, I would like to welcome all of you to this event and express our continued support for the relief efforts in Guatemala. As a part of those efforts, the United Sates Air Force Thunderbirds are here to provide a benefit air show for the people of Guatemala.

I am also pleased to have you here today as the men and women of Joint Task Force Bravo end their task of assisting with the emergency humanitarian response that was so critical in the first days after Hurricane Stan’s devastation. Now that we are moving on to the longer-term rebuilding phase of the recovery effort, our assistance will shift to items such as support for infrastructure and economic rebuilding, but we are grateful to the incredibly quick response of the Southern Command (South Com) JTF-B in the initial phase of helping Guatemala deal with the disaster. It is in the spirit of cooperation that we want to stress the importance of the partnership between the Guatemalan and U.S. Armed Forces in confronting our common threats.

Today we recognize this partnership and the advances the Guatemalan Armed Forces are making in Humanitarian assistance, Human Rights, and the war on drugs. As an expression of the friendship between our governments, I am pleased to hand over these two repaired A-37 aircraft to be used to serve and protect the sovereignty of Guatemala. These two aircraft will be utilized in our joint operations to stop the flow of drugs through Guatemala and to enforce the rule of law in its sovereign airspace.

I want to especially thank the Narcotics Affair Section at the US Embassy for seeking and obtaining the money utilized to repair these aircraft and the USMILGP for coordinating the effort once the parts and equipment arrived in Guatemala. Their joint work demonstrates our continued commitment to fight along side Guatemala against drug traffickers.

Thank you.