In the inter-institutional coordination scenario within the framework of the international cooperation strategy in the fight against this criminal phenomenon, the representatives of Public Prosecutors Offices and Attorney General´s Offices from 14 countries of the American continent participate.
The Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa Delgado, held a Summit with Prosecutors and Attorneys General 2021 in Cartagena de Indias (Bolívar), whose purpose is to give continuity to the regional strategy to combat transnational organized crime related to trafficking of migrants and their illicit finances.
The event that was led by the Attorney General´s Office of Colombia and that will be until Friday, October 22, is part of the commitments made on August 30 with the signing of the Declaration of Panama, during the meeting of Prosecutors and Attorneys General in that country.
The meeting was attended by representatives of Bolivia, Costa Rica, Panama, Chile, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru and the United States, as well as Colombia as the host country.
During his speech, when referring to migratory movements in the continent, the Attorney General stated that the smuggling of migrants is a criminal phenomenon that concerns all affected countries and therefore, an articulated transnational response from the institutions is needed.
“The idea is to come together and review the several problems that we have, since beyond speeches, our actions are operational in the territories, through structural investigations and the prosecution of criminals and seizure of assets in our countries”, stressed the Attorney General.
In this way, the summit aims to develop strategies at the regional level ꟷaccording to what was proposed in Panamaꟷ that allow the promotion of transnational investigations through direct inter-institutional cooperation between the prosecutors into these scourges, the prioritization of cases, the spontaneous transmission of information and the establishment of joint investigation teams in the cases that are needed, among other aspects.
Among the topics to be addressed in the meeting are the roadmap of proceedings known as actos urgentes for the investigation and prosecution of migrant smuggling in the region, and the roadmap for the development of joint and structural investigations about this issue.
On the other hand, it was stated that this summit is an opportunity for dialogue and agreements regarding other thematic axes such as drug trafficking, money laundering, assets seizure, and cybercrime with bitcoin.
For the Attorney General Barbosa Delgado, the Attorney General´s Offices, and judicial police of the countries are key pieces in this purpose. The criminal investigation and criminal proceedings, in accordance with the internal law of each State, must contribute to ensuring that this activity, which represents a business for criminal organizations, does not continue affecting sovereignty, immigration laws, or human rights.
When we speak, results follow.