Oscar Alvarez is a Honduras

Honduras

Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...

 Nationalist

National Party of Honduras

The National Party is a centre-right conservative political party in Honduras and the main right-wing political party in the country. Founded in 1902 the PNH is identified with the color blue as its rival the Liberal Party of Honduras , is red. All the democratic elections in Honduras have been...

 politician who is currently Minister of Public Security in the government of Porfirio Lobo, a position which he held from January 27, 2002 - November 14, 2005 in the government of Ricardo Maduro

Ricardo Maduro

Ricardo Rodolfo Maduro Joest is a former President of Honduras and Bank of Honduras chairman. Maduro graduated from The Lawrenceville School and later Stanford University...

.

Minister of Public Security

Álvarez is in charge of all internal security for Honduras. In his first term he played a key role in helping to implement Homeland Security

Homeland security

Homeland security is an umbrella term for security efforts to protect states against terrorist activity. Specifically, is a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the U.S., reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do...

’s CSI (Container Security Initiative), which gave Hondurans the ability to ship containers to any port in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 without major security restrictions.

Álvarez also worked closely with several United States agencies in the fight against organized crime, narcotics trafficking, terrorism, human smuggling, and gangs. Such agencies include but are not limited to: Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...

 (FBI), Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Central Intelligence Agency

Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...

 (CIA). His attempts to make Honduras safer led to a tough crackdown on gangs that saw many gang members put in jail.

Álvarez was also a key element in the establishment of the Honduran Border Patrol Units, in close cooperation with Homeland Security’s Border Tactical Units (BORTAC). Up to today, it is considered among the most successful exercises involving international cooperation in law enforcement between the United States of America and Honduras. On September 10, 2011 unexplained events led to the forced resignation of Alvarez and his closest staff. According to CSmonitor.com: “The departure of the Honduran Security Minister Oscar Alvarez, the leading crusader against police corruption in Honduras, is a victory for crooked cops.

With the departure of Honduran Security Minister Oscar Alvarez, an outspoken foe of police corruption, the country is facing an uphill battle as it grapples with attempts to reform its notorious police force.

In a surprise move, the administration of President Porfirio Lobo announced late Saturday night that it had accepted Mr. Alvarez's resignation. Up until now, he had been seen as one of the president’s closest and most influential advisers. While officials are claiming that the resignation was voluntary, Alvarez was joined by Foreign Minister Mario Canahuati as well as several other ministers and deputy ministers, suggesting they were dismissed as part of a major shake-up.”

Past Accomplishments

Alvarez has held numerous presidential appointments in Honduras, including Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of the Office of Coordination and Analysis, which reports directly to the President of Honduras. Alvarez is founder and president of ATESA Seguridad, one of the largest security companies in Honduras. ATESA Seguridad provides turn key service to many major banks and industries. Services include risk analysis, due diligence, design and implementation of electronic and physical security, training and maintenance of the equipment. Also, Atesa Seguridad has done specialized work for global security companies such as Control Risk, Kroll

Kroll Inc.

Kroll is a risk consultancy firm based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. and established in 1972.- History:Kroll was founded in 1972 by Jules B. Kroll as a consultant to corporate purchasing departments...

 and foreign intelligence services.

Alvarez attended several US military schools including Ranger, Special Forces and the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...

, where he had the distinction of being the first cadet to receive commission in a foreign army. During Alvarez’s career he has been awarded several medals and recognitions including the Honduran Army Combat Medal, Commendation Medal, US Special Forces School Achievement Medal and Special Recognition from the US State Department, FBI and DEA. Mr. Alvarez has a BA in political science from Texas A&M University and has attended the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) taking courses on International Relations and Security Studies.