The 12th meeting of the High‑Level Working Group on Combating Transnational Organised Crime of the Andean Community (CAN) was held on July 14 in Quito, Ecuador, the bloc’s current pro‑tempore president. The meeting aimed to strengthen operational coordination among member states and promote joint responses to the growing threat of transnational organised crime.
Four‑nation representatives discuss security
Ecuador’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility issued a communiqué stating that representatives from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru attended the meeting in a hybrid format. The session focused on assessing the implementation progress of the first phase of the “Resolution Action Plan” adopted under CAN Resolution 922, and identified priorities for the second phase.
Agustín Fornelli, Ecuador’s Deputy Minister for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs, noted in his address that organised crime activities now extend beyond drug trafficking and are linked to other illicit economies, seriously affecting the security, stability, and development of CAN member states. He said these transnational threats require joint, comprehensive, and coordinated responses.
Second phase focuses on four areas
The communiqué indicated that Ecuador proposed to prioritise cooperation in the second phase on combating illegal mining, illicit arms trafficking, human trafficking, and migrant smuggling.
Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry stated that the meeting “reaffirms the CAN’s commitment to strengthening regional cooperation and Andean integration, which are fundamental tools for restoring security, peace, and well‑being for the citizens of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.”
Deepening security cooperation within the CAN
Founded in May 1969, the Andean Community is a major regional economic integration organisation in Latin America, with Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Bolivia as full members. In recent years, as transnational organised crime has become increasingly rampant in the Andean region, security cooperation among CAN members has continued to deepen. This meeting follows the 17th Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas held earlier this month in Peru, as Andean countries continue to coordinate on shared security issues. (End)