The member countries of the Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) agreed this Sunday to create a Andean Security Network 24/7with the objective of share information about the activities of criminal groups.
The agreement was one of the main points of an extensive Resolute Action Plan (PAR) that was approved by the ministers of Foreign Affairs and security of the countries of the organization, who met in Lima.
The 24/7 Andean Security Network will have a regular point of contact and an alternate point of contact designated by each country to guarantee attention to this information 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, according to the document.
The agency will provide and receive information “on the activity of criminal groups that have, or could become, transnational operations and carry out activities that threaten public security in the territories of two or more participating member countries or at their border crossings.” .
In addition, alerts will be issued immediately “about relevant acts perpetrated by transnational criminal groups,” even if they have been committed within a single participating country.
wave of violence
The Andean Network will also allow police, military and national security authorities and agents, in accordance with the regulations of each participating country, to have information on transnational criminal groups.
The countries determined that the activities of this network “must respect the national laws and policies of each participating country, so the designated contact points must be duly trained in the corresponding regulations for the application of this measure within the framework of the law.” ».
The PAR established that the 24/7 Andean Security Network will begin its functions from the first quarter of this year.
The Resolute Action Plan was approved during the XXIV Extraordinary Meeting of the Andean Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, convened to seek “concrete and effective” agreements to jointly fight organized crime and transnational crime in the region.
The meeting was agreed last week after the wave of violence that broke out in Ecuador.
Participants
The Minister of Government, Carlos Eduardo del Castillo, and the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade and Integration, Benjamín Blanco, participated in the meeting for Bolivia, while the Vice Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Francisco Coy, as well as Defense and Security Policies attended the meeting. of the Ministry of Defense, Daniela Gómez.
For Ecuador, the ministers of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility attended, Gabriela Sommerfeld; of government, Monica Palenciaand National Defense, Gian Carlo Loffredo.
For Peru, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Javier González-Olaechea; of Defense, Jorge Chávez, and of the Interior, Víctor Torres, while its general secretary, Gonzalo Gutiérrez, and its general director, Diego Caicedo, were present for the CAN. EFE
The Minister of Government, Mónica Palencia, and the Chancellor, Gabriela Sommerfeld, at the CAN meeting, in Lima, on January 21, 2024.