Why Latin America Can’t Stop Drug Cartels’ Spillover Violence

-OpEd-

BOGOTA — Crime has reached alarming levels in Latin America. Cartels, once involved only in drug trafficking, have expanded their “business” to include illegal mining, human trafficking, extortion, loansharking, and street drug dealing. Once concentrated in a few cities, they are now present in many. They have become multinational crime firms with franchises, subsidiaries, and local partners throughout Latin America.

The inability and limitations of states to combat organized crime are a reality, and the way these organizations operate today at the regional level, in a sophisticated way, is another reality. If these structures are not confronted in a coordinated way between countries, there will be no possibility to combat them.

I was recently in Peru, where I was told that drug trafficking is now the third source of violence in the country, after illegal mining and human trafficking linked to illegal immigration. The tentacles of these organizations are astounding.

The case of Ecuador

Ecuador is a dramatic case. It has experienced unprecedented violence in recent years. Organized crime has so challenged the government that it had to resort to a state of emergency to contain the wave of violence. In one year, the country went from a rate of five murders per 100,000 inhabitants to 46, which is nothing short of tragic.

Knowing that the country cannot fight this multinational gang alone, Ecuador welcomed the initiative of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to convene a Latin American Security Summit, which was held on August 19 in Guayaquil, the city most affected by the violence.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made the situation worse.

The meeting proposed the creation of a Security Alliance that would coordinate national security policies, mobilize resources to combat crime and ensure information sharing. Coordination of strategies and access to resources to purchase advanced equipment are essential to combat cartels and gangs that are already awash with money and high-tech weapons. The meeting also urged another important measure: cutting off the financial flows of these organizations.

Two very worrying aspects were mentioned in this meeting. First, in the words of BID President Ilan Goldfajn, the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the situation by increasing unemployment and closing schools, weakening social safety nets for young people, who are at greater risk of being recruited.”

To collaborate

The second aspect refers to the cost of fighting crime, which can amount to an average of 3.5% of a country’s annual GDP. These are resources that countries do not use to meet their multiple social needs.

Several countries have joined this alliance, but not Mexico, which did not send a representative to the meeting in Guayaquil, probably because it has broken ties with the government of Ecuador. But it would be a serious mistake to continue this multilateral struggle without the cooperation of Mexico.

Latin America’s inability to work together could prove to be our region’s greatest failure.

Today, the Mexican cartels are the main criminal groups with influence in the entire region, and therefore Mexico should be the main partner in this security alliance. The inability of Latin America to work together, coordinate national efforts and multiply resources may well become the greatest failure of our region. Problems are never limited to one country, since criminals are not aware of borders and what happens today in one country can soon be seen in another.

In just a few years, Latin American countries, through ideological differences, presidential egos and intolerance, have destroyed the regional organizations that had previously been created to strengthen national efforts and stimulate development. What a difference we would see today, if we could address our common problems together. Let us hope that this time we can abandon our narrow-mindedness and work as a team.