A key figure in the hemispheric debate on security, governance, and international cooperation, former Colombian president Iván Duque Márquez (2018–2022) has established himself as one of the most influential voices in the region in addressing the challenges of organized crime and transnational threats. During his administration, he promoted initiatives to strengthen state capabilities and coordination with international partners in an increasingly complex security environment.
Diálogo had the exclusive opportunity to speak with him during the 2026 Mayors of the Americas Summit, organized by Florida International University (FIU), and held April 24-25 in Doral, Florida.
In this interview, Duque analyzes the evolution of the security environment in the hemisphere, marked by the growing sophistication of transnational organized crime, the persistence of high levels of violence, and the impact of illicit economies. He also addresses the need to strengthen intelligence, legal frameworks, and international cooperation, and highlights the role of technology, citizen participation, and shared responsibility in confronting increasingly complex and interconnected threats.
Diálogo: Across the Americas, security challenges are becoming more complex and interconnected. From your perspective, what are the most significant shifts in the threat environment that leaders should be paying attention to today?
Iván Duque Márquez, former president of Colombia and global security expert: I believe there are three major focal points. The first has to do with the issue of urban security, especially homicides. Sometimes we do not fully grasp the magnitude: Latin America and the Caribbean represent approximately 8 percent of the world’s population, yet account for nearly 30 percent of the world’s homicides. In addition, the most vulnerable population falls between 18 and 29 years of age, which indicates that this phenomenon is concentrated among youth. This requires prevention, effective security, and also solid investment in the justice system to avoid impunity, ensure investigation, timely sanctions, and effective results.
The second has to do with transnational organized crime. These are highly sophisticated structures with access to high-caliber weaponry, linked to drug trafficking, and capable of intimidating and destabilizing countries. We have seen this with figures such as El Mencho in Mexico, Fito in Ecuador, the Clan del Golfo in Colombia, or groups such as the Shottas and Espartanos in Buenaventura, and even in countries like Chile. Confronting this phenomenon cannot be done with disjointed policies; it requires a regional pact against crime, making leaders visible, strengthening information sharing, intelligence, and enforcement capacity.
The third element is related to illegal economies. These must be targeted across their entire chain: from precursors to money laundering, including the ability to freeze assets. In this, technology plays a fundamental role as never before. These are three major challenges, without failing to mention that in some countries in the region, such as Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua, the operation of these structures has been facilitated from their territories. Therefore, restoring institutional order and democracy in those countries is also a key task for the hemisphere.
Diálogo: Transnational criminal organizations continue to adapt and expand across borders. What capabilities must states strengthen to respond more effectively to these evolving threats?
Duque: On the one hand, intelligence. When one observes the connections between organizations such as Sinaloa, La Familia, or the Jalisco New Generation Cartel with drug trafficking networks in Colombia, it becomes clear that they are fully interconnected structures. This is also evident in port cities such as Guayaquil, as well as in places like Durango [Colombia] or even Lima [Peru], where they seek to infiltrate and contaminate legal economies.
In many cases, states do not have the intelligence apparatus needed to detect and confront them, nor do they have clear protocols on the use of force. I was recently in Chile and spoke with some of the new ministers, and one of the key issues is the legitimacy and legal framework that public forces must have. For example, the ability to declare a criminal leader a high-value target, to understand the importance of their capture, and, given their level of danger, to contemplate scenarios in which they may be neutralized, is not always clearly authorized in legislation.
Likewise, it is key to strengthen mechanisms such as asset forfeiture in an agile and effective manner, targeting the entire criminal value chain: assets, laundering networks, logistics and dispatch centers, and associated economies such as smuggling. All of this must be brought to bear quickly and forcefully to weaken these structures.
Diálogo: Many countries have increased their security investments in recent years. What adjustments are needed to ensure these efforts translate into more consistent results on the ground?
Duque: Security cannot be approached in isolation; it must be comprehensive. In many countries, for example, the Armed Forces are under the Ministry of Defense and the police under the Ministry of the Interior. Faced with transnational threats, that separation makes coordination more difficult, generates distrust, and even rivalries.
It is necessary to move toward a more integrated approach, with security under one roof from an operational standpoint. Greater investment is also required in technical and human intelligence, reward systems, and citizen participation networks that facilitate the flow of information.
Likewise, offensive capabilities, appropriate equipment, and strong investment in justice are needed to ensure rapid and effective responses. The penitentiary system must also be reformed to prevent prisons from becoming centers of criminal operations and instead promote rehabilitation.
From a hemispheric perspective, the support of the United States has been key — I experienced this during my government with U.S. Southern Command — but it would be positive to expand mechanisms for cooperation and investment to strengthen capabilities in the region. Ultimately, this is a hemispheric security challenge.
Diálogo: You briefly mentioned citizen participation. How can citizens feel safer and become more active?
Duque: Citizen participation is fundamental. There is something very interesting in U.S. culture: the concept of community. When a crime occurs, the neighbor does not act in isolation but instead brings the community together to understand what happened and how to respond collectively.
That approach is key. Informant networks must be strengthened — from street vendors to public transportation users and organized communities — so that information flows and becomes input for intelligence.
It is also important to implement reward systems, make criminals visible, and leverage technology: facial recognition, integrated databases, and artificial intelligence tools that can identify patterns and prevent crimes. Today we have unprecedented technological capabilities that can make a major difference.
Diálogo: Institutional resilience has become a central issue in confronting organized crime. What does resilience look like in practice, and how can it be sustained over time?
Duque: In the region there are two models: national police forces and highly decentralized systems. In the latter, as in some cases in the United States, each jurisdiction has its own police force. This can work, but when facing transnational organized crime with a high capacity for corruption, it can become risky.
We have seen in countries such as Mexico how cartels capture local police forces and turn them into armies at their service. That is why it is necessary to rethink these structures and strengthen the state on all fronts: prevention, offensive action, enforcement, and the penitentiary system.
In addition, there is a structural problem: spending on justice does not exceed 0.8 percent of GDP when it should be closer to 3 percent. Without effective justice, there is no sustainable security.
Diálogo: International partnerships play an important role in addressing shared threats. In your experience, what makes these partnerships truly effective?
Duque: Transparency, loyalty, and shared objectives, but everything begins with shared principles. I had the honor of working very closely with the United States, and I remember that the work we carried out with U.S. Southern Command was exceptional, both with Admiral Craig Faller and General Laura J. Richardson. We worked in a coordinated manner; both visited Colombia on multiple occasions, and we achieved very close coordination in addressing shared threats.
In that context, we made difficult decisions and so did the United States. Unfortunately, in that fight there were heroes and martyrs on both sides, which reflects that it was a true exercise in shared responsibility. And that is something that cannot be lost.
Now, that shared responsibility also implies recognizing that the problem is not only supply but also demand. The United States has not reduced consumption in recent decades; on the contrary, after the pandemic — in a context marked by phenomena such as anxiety and loneliness — we have seen an increase in the consumption of substances, including hallucinogens, psychotropics, and narcotics. Fentanyl has increased, but cocaine consumption has not declined.
That is why this shared responsibility is fundamental. Colombia would not have achieved significant advances in security without the support of the United States, but that support is only possible when there are strong institutions based on trust, transparency, and loyalty.
Diálogo: Looking ahead, where should countries in the region prioritize their efforts to better anticipate and counter emerging threats?
Duque: I believe the key is sharing. It helped me greatly, for example, when we created the Campaign Artemis (Campaña Artemisa) to combat crimes against the environment in Colombia. Also, the Orion Naval Campaign, where Colombia, the United States, and 18 countries worked in a coordinated manner to strengthen drug trafficking interdiction in our territorial waters in the Caribbean, with very successful results.
But today we need to go further. Countries with greater capabilities — better intelligence, better equipment, and greater operational capacity — must work together to build a true joint force. In that sense, initiatives such as the idea of a “Regional Shield” should translate into something practical: a major anti-crime agreement.
And I believe there are very clear metrics we must set as a region. First, Latin America cannot continue to account for nearly 30 percent of the world’s homicides. Second, we must break the strongest link in illicit economies, and here technology is essential to identify assets, track networks, and act decisively. And third, it is essential to balance prevention with rehabilitation, strengthening penitentiary and justice systems that are effective, uncompromising, and, above all, credible for citizens.
