VP Joe Biden meets with Central American leaders

GUATEMALA CITY , March 3 (UPI) -- Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Guatemala for meetings on economic and educational issues, and policy talks on Latin American humantrafficking networks. Because he was afflicted by a severe cold, he and Jill Biden arrived in Guatemala City on Monday after cancelling a visit to Uruguay, where Biden was to lead the U.S. delegation at the inauguration of President Tabare Vazquez.

In Guatemala on a two-day visit, Biden will meet with the presidents of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and the president of the Inter-American Development Bank. Biden met in November with the Central American heads of state in Washington, where an "Alliance for Prosperity" plan was revealed. It included a request to the U.S. Congress for $1 billion to help create reforms and investment in Central America.

Of particular interest on Biden's visit, a White House statement said, is the elimination of criminal networks engaged in human trafficking. The meetings are expected to review how each nation can create a structure of better law enforcement.