On July 14, 2017 Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales formally presented his country’s updated National Security Policy during a public ceremony in the National Palace of Culture; the Ministry of Governance also unveiled a National Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy aligned with this policy. Lic. Silvia de León, the Coordinator of the National Security Council’s Technical Secretariat, led the nearly year-long effort to review and update the National Security Policy, which focuses on improving the lives of the Guatemalan people through better government responses to national security. The updated Policy seeks to improve governance of the national security sector and takes into account Guatemala’s changed strategic priorities, its new challenges, and the need to continue improving and guiding whole-of-government approaches to address those challenges.

Lic. de León is a William J. Perry Center alumna and most recently was a key presenter at the Managing Security and Defense senior executive seminar, where she discussed Guatemala’s path in implementing good governance practices in the national security sector. The Perry Center joins the Secretariat, the national government, and the Guatemalan people in celebrating this achievement.