In the jungles and rivers of the Amazon, the fight against transnational crime is intensifying. For decades, criminal organizations have exploited the region’s vast network of rivers and jungles for illicit activities, from drug and arms trafficking to illegal mining. Now, a new level of cooperation is being brought to the fight. The Amazon Information Fusion Center, a collaborative hub for intelligence sharing, is arming four nations with the crucial knowledge they need to confront these persistent threats.
The center, led by the Colombian Navy from Putumayo, unites the navies of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru in a strategic effort to combat shared criminal threats. The intelligence provided by the center has already yielded significant results. A ton of marijuana bound for Brazil was seized in Putumayo in late August, and in July, two other major operations took down transnational criminal organizations dedicated to narcotrafficking and the transport of chemical precursors in the Amazon basin.
A record of success
In an operation carried out with the Brazilian Federal Police on the Puré River, authorities seized a boat with six outboard motors, along with 1 ton of cocaine hydrochloride, 5.5 tons of marijuana, nine rifles, a grenade launcher, and ammunition of various calibers.
On a separate occasion, the Ecuadorian Army, using the center’s intelligence, seized more than 48,900 liters of acetone and 575 kilograms of solid chemical precursors for the production of narcotics. The operation also resulted in the capture of three Ecuadorian nationals and one Colombian.
The mission: Knowing the enemy
The center’s mission is to analyze, integrate, and disseminate intelligence to operational commands, enabling the forces to better understand the common enemy and its criminal dynamics.
“The Colombian Navy, through the FNA, has been developing an international cooperation strategy to combat transnational threats in joint and combined operations,” said Vice Admiral Javier Alfonso Jaimes Pinilla, FNA commander. According to the FNA, the center’s main objective is to be a benchmark for effective leadership and coordination in the fight against instability in the Amazon.
Since its creation in June 2024, the center has carried out operations against various crimes, leading to the surrender of 22 individuals of different nationalities and the interception of five vessels with illegal cargo, among other results. It has also contributed to the destruction of illegal infrastructure, including two cocaine paste laboratories, three camps, and two caches, and the seizure of more than 10 tons of narcotics and chemical precursors. These operations also resulted in the seizure of various firearms and ammunition, as well as the capture of three individuals.
“This international cooperation, through various human and technological capabilities, provides information and analysis from the field regarding environmental crimes, smuggling, drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, illegal mining, terrorism, arms trafficking, cybercrimes, armed attacks on the civilian population, and transnational crimes,” the FNA said.
“Given the complexity of conducting operations in this Amazonian region, it has allowed us to be a key player and a dominant intelligence force, thus delivering compelling results that benefit the interests and preservation of this important region for Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.”
