USSOUTHCOM To Build Clinic in Talamanca

June 16, 2008 – The United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) announced it will be building a health clinic in the Talamanca region of Costa Rica.

The 345 square metre (3.700 square feet) clinic is to be located in El Bambú community near the Panama border in the province of Limón.

The announcement was made by the U.S. Embassy in San José.

The Talamanca project is not the first by the USSOUTHCOM, in Februay the agency announced plans to double funding to us$2 million dollars to Costa Rica counter narcotics traffic. In April USSOUTHCOM contributed us$250.000 for the construction of a new Coast Guard base in Puntarenas.

USSOUTHCOM, located in Miami, Florida, is one of ten unified Combatant Commands (COCOMs) in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for providing contingency planning, operations, and security cooperation for Central and South America, the Caribbean (except U.S. commonwealths, territories, and possessions), Cuba, the Bahamas, their territorial waters, and for the force protection of U.S. military resources at these locations. USSOUTHCOM is also responsible for ensuring the defense of the Panama Canal and canal area.

The U.S. Southern Command Area of Focus encompasses more than 30 countries and covers about 15.6 million square miles. The region represents about one-sixth of the landmass of the world assigned to regional unified commands.