Following the escalation of gang violence in Ecuador, which led President Daniel Noboa to declare an “internal armed conflict” on January 9, the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) came together to analyze the security crisis.
Ministers and authorities in charge of internal security in the CAN member countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru met in Lima, the Peruvian capital, for the XXIV Extraordinary Meeting to adopt concrete and effective measures to combat transnational organized crime.
“Any strategy aimed at transnational coordination against organized crime, drug trafficking, and terrorism is, without a doubt, an advance,” Guillermo Holzmann, defense analyst and academic at the University of Valparaíso, Chile, told Diálogo on February 18.
“Transnational organized crime is challenging democratic institutions,” Peruvian Ambassador Gonzalo Gutiérrez, CAN secretary general, said during the January 22 reunion. “We have to make commitments to measures that we adopt jointly; the biggest factor is coordination.”
Participating officials also condemned the explosion of violence in Ecuador, reaffirming their support and solidarity to the government of President Noboa, CAN said in a statement.
As part of their activities, representatives approved the Resolutive Action Plan (PAR), prioritizing actions related to security and the fight against transnational organized crime, and the creation of a high-level group to follow up on the plan, Colombian daily La República reported.
The plan includes strengthening border surveillance posts and joint efforts to identify, control, and neutralize unauthorized crossings to minimize transnational illicit activities such as drug, arms, ammunition, explosives, and human trafficking, and illegal mining, among others.
Among other measures approved, the Andean Committee of Migratory Authorities (CAAM) is to implement a mechanism for the exchange of migratory information, to create an Andean Data Bank, strengthen controls at border crossings, and draw up an action plan within two months to reinforce internal security.
“In order for there to be coordination, there must first be data, which must be collected and processed using a common methodology that catalogs crimes under the same conditions in all countries,” Holzmann said. “That way, a database will be integrated, so that when countries consult these data, everyone will have access to the same information, without biases or doubt or misunderstanding.”
The PAR will also define measures to promote intelligence aimed at regional interagency cooperation and the analysis of the modus operandi of transnational organized crime.
The plan seeks to create a mechanism to coordinate strategic intelligence governing bodies to exchange data on common threats and risks affecting the security of CAN nations, as well as for intelligence exchange between military and police bodies to capture members of transnational criminal gangs.
In addition, it was agreed to create an Andean Regional Observatory to compile, process, and analyze information on transnational organized crime in the region.
According to La República, participants also reinforced the need to address at the next meeting the creation of a Latin American Anti-Narcotics Alliance, as well as to promote cooperation and coordination for a more efficient exchange of intelligence information concerning narcotrafficking.
The Ecuador case
Under a state of emergency since early January, Ecuador declared war on armed gangs, deploying its security forces to combat and dismantle transnational organized crime. According to the Presidency of Ecuador, between January 9 and February 22, authorities arrested nearly 9,500 criminals and seized more than 64 tons of drugs.
“Ecuador is currently receiving help from the United States in criminal intelligence, with technological and analytical support to identify drug trafficking trends, to obtain the necessary evidence, and strengthen the judicial powers, through nongovernmental organizations that have the financial support of the United States,” Holzmann said. “The United States is developing a very interesting plan with Ecuador, which will probably be part of a model to replicate in other countries facing a similar situation.”