The defense and interior ministers sought agreement on creating a regional response team for natural disasters and building a Central American battalion for peacekeeping missions.

The meeting had also sought an agreement allowing the region's armed forces to participate in international operations against drugs, gangs and trafficking in persons, among other crimes.

The Pentagon pushed for regional cooperation after approval of CAFTA, a freed-trade agreement covering the Dominican Republic, Central America and the United States.

Rumsfeld said "the recognition of the critical relationship between security and economic opportunity" was key to making the agreement work.

"We made useful progress toward increasing cooperation of our armed forces in important areas such as planning and training together to better prepare for future natural disasters and jointly combating transnational threats," he said.

The most divisive issue was coordination between regional armed forces in multilateral operations.

"We are ready to cooperate on these threats," said Nicaraguan Defense Minister Avil Ramirez.

"Our countries' armies do not have jurisdiction to capture or interdict gangs or persons tied to drug trafficking," he said. "We want a mechanism that allows us to overcome legal obstacles."

related report
Rumsfeld Voices Confidence That Nicaraguan Missiles Are Safe
Key Biscayne, Florida (AFP) Oct 13 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday he had been reassured about the Nicaraguan army's control over 1,000 Russian-made SAM missiles.

The United States wants Managua to get rid of the Soviet-made SAM-7 missiles, which Washington fears could fall into the hands of terrorists. Managua obtained them from the Soviets during the 1979-1990 Sandinista Revolution, to fight US-funded contra rebels.

"I've been assured that the existing missiles are being kept in a secure manner, which is very reassuring," Rumsfeld said referring to talks with Nicaraguan Defense Minister Avil Ramirez at a meeting of defense and interior chiefs from Central America on this island just off Miami.

"The cooperation between the government, ministers and armed forces has been great," Rumsfeld added. "We are certain that we will soon have excellent news" on the final fate of the missiles Ramirez said.

Of the more than 2,000 missiles Managua acquired almost half have been destroyed, according to the Pentagon. Disposal of the rest has sparked a political row between Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos and opposition forces who want to be asked for permission to proceed with the destruction of the weapons.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

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