Law enforcement students from Honduras and the Dominican Republic are the latest transnational criminal investigators to graduate from the International Taskforce Agent Training (ITAT) program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco.
The students, 12 from Honduras and 12 from the Dominican Republic, graduated Friday following training hosted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which has successfully trained hundreds of international law enforcement officials from about a dozen countries.
The graduates are joining the fight against transnational criminal organizations after spending nearly three weeks in classroom seminars and practical exercises as part of the ITAT program, which provides vetted foreign law enforcement officers with training similar to that of the HSI’s special agents.
“The work done by our international partners under this program has been an unqualified success,” said HSI Executive Associate Director Peter T. Edge, “Last year, TCIU agents made 466 criminal arrests and seized more than $13 million and nearly 3,000 pounds of cocaine. The ITAT program is achieving incredible results for participating nations.”
“We have already seen the increased capabilities this training provides to our nation’s law enforcement programs,” said Major General Manuel Castro Castillo, chief of the National Police for the Dominican Republic. “This new class of graduates will have an immediate impact on our ability to counter the criminal organizations who threaten public safety in our communities.”
“While this training program provided my students with an excellent opportunity to sharpen their skills and learn new techniques, the greater benefit is the network of law enforcement agencies they are joining,” said Director General Felix Villanueva Mejia, Honduran National Police.
Transnational criminals recognize no borders, and Honduras is committed to working with other nations to root them out wherever they might be hiding.”
HSI instructors delivered a tailored curriculum developed to strengthen the students' ability to conduct criminal investigations. Classes covered investigation and interview techniques, evidence processing and warrant execution. The graduates were also exposed to physical training, defensive tactics and weapons practice.
The graduates are now part of an international law enforcement community that facilitates information sharing and the bilateral investigation of transnational criminal organizations involved in a variety of crimes, including weapons and narcotic trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, money laundering, cybercrimes and more.
FLETC serves as the largest law enforcement training organization in the United States, training a majority of the federal officers and agents in the country. In addition to providing training for more than 90 federal partner organizations, FLETC also provides training to local, state, tribal and international police in select advanced programs. Approximately 70,000 students graduate from FLETC each year.
