Latin American Security Alliance, backed by Inter-American Bank, targets transnational crime

By Carolina Mella

Organized crime and violence are obstacles to development and growth in Latin American countries. Security has become a major concern for citizens. According to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), violence has weakened states, increased the cost of doing business and cost the region 3.5% of GDP. The problem is not new and political leaders are aware of it.

Daniel Noboa opens the Latin American Security Summit in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

They agree that criminal groups are more organized, more interconnected, do not respect borders and that more efforts are needed to combat them. Under these premises, the Latin American Security Summit opened on August 19 in Guayaquil, one of the most insecure cities in Ecuador, which has registered 1,650 violent crimes so far this year and accounts for 45% of homicides nationwide.

“We know that there is no single formula for responding to organized crime, especially when these organizations are developing rapidly,” said Ilan Goldfajn, president of the IDB. Goldfajn proposed creating a regional alliance to strengthen security and justice in the region and coordinate the implementation of public policies and the mobilization of resources. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay will join the alliance, and Ecuador has committed to assuming the initial chairmanship. The IDB has announced that it will serve as technical secretariat.

The goal is to suppress organized crime through three axes: limiting its influence among the most vulnerable populations, strengthening state institutions and suppressing the financial flow. The challenge of each project is to mobilize resources. The IDB proposal will support countries with technical assistance, training, scientific data and technology. “We need to use analytical and intelligence tools based on evidence to know where the crime is, where we need to concentrate resources, because we are dealing with more sophisticated groups,” the IDB president explained.

In this regard, the Guayaquil institution also announced an agreement with the World Bank and CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean to deepen collaboration and cooperation to generate knowledge and support public policies on transnational organized crime in the countries of the region.

The discussion also revolved around an analysis of the other business axes that organized crime groups use to maximize their illicit profits, and the ease with which they reach markets. “The Gulf Clan used to be dedicated to cocaine trafficking; now it is involved in migrant smuggling, human trafficking, and we are seeing more groups using illegal mining to launder their assets,” Candice Walsh, representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for the Andean Region, said at one of the forums. The host country can confirm this.

Less than a week ago, a massacre took place in a mine in the city of Ponce Enríquez, in the province of Azuay. Six people were killed in clashes between criminal groups fighting for control of the deposit. “A negative effect of globalization is also the globalization of crime; criminal structures do not come from one country, nor from one city or neighborhood, but occupy entire regions and have intercontinental logistics chains,” said Daniel Noboa, President of Ecuador and host of the summit.

Another goal is to reduce the opportunities for these groups to recruit children and youth. The IDB announced its collaboration in a program to prevent and respond to violence and crime in Ecuador, similar to those implemented in Costa Rica and Brazil, to create integrated social service centers for at-risk youth and a new model of specialized police services. “The IDB also needs to modernize and change. We need to adapt,” Goldfajn added.

The various organizations that participated in the forum agreed that mechanisms must be implemented to control the financial flow of criminal organizations. “That is the blood that circulates, and if we do not have transparency in the financing, we do not have control over the flow and the corruption,” said Tuesday Reitano, deputy director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.

The summit will conclude on 20 August, presenting the context in which organised crime operates and discussing prevention and community strengthening strategies in areas affected by criminal violence.
_________________

Photo: El Pais