CEPOL, ready to step up efforts with Latin America in the fight against transnational organised crime

On 28 September, Executive Director Montserrat Marín Lopez attended the Ministerial meeting EU-CLASI (Latin American Committee on Internal Security), organised in Brussels by the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Taking the floor during the session on the development of EU-CLASI regional cooperation, the CEPOL Executive Director underlined the important role of Latin American countries in the fight against transnational organised crime, particularly regarding High-Risk Criminal Networks (*).

On the occasion of this event, the CEPOL Executive Director noted:

We are ready to step up our efforts for an increased security cooperation between the EU and Latin America. Guided by the agency’s strategy 2023-2027, CEPOL can help strengthen regional law enforcement networks in Latin America by contributing to capacity building activities via training. Organised crime operates at a global scale, particularly when it comes to High-Risk Criminal Networks. In our common efforts to address such criminal threats, Latin American countries are an indispensable partner.

Being responsible for the coordination of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT) common horizontal strategic goal 6 ‘Capacity building through training, networking and innovation’, CEPOL assists in the fight against organised crime in the EU. CEPOL also plays a crucial role in the EMPACT mechanism through the provision of specialised training and the identification of training needs within each common security threat.

As per its legal mandate, the agency actively contributes to law enforcement capacity building outside the EU (e.g. Eastern Partnership, MENA and WB region). This is achieved by enhancing regional networks in the area of counter-terrorism and organised crime, as well as delivering a comprehensive training response along with the needs of the partners. The sharing of knowledge and expertise helps build trusted and equal partnerships that contribute to creating a strong European security ecosystem. Currently, the agency is implementing four international cooperation projects: EUROMED Police,  TOPCOP and WB PaCT, as project lead in cooperation with EUROPOL, as well as CT INFLOW.

(*) CEPOL recently released an Operational Training Needs Analysis on HRCN. Read more about the findings of the report here.