European Union seeks to hit upper echelons of Colombian-backed drug trafficking groups

There European Union announced on Thursday February 2 that will finance a pilot project in Colombia with which it aims to strengthen police cooperation and the exchange of information with Europol, in its strong commitment to fight against drug trafficking, organized crime and human trafficking.

The announcement was made by EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson, and the Minister of the Interior, Institutional Reform and Democratic Renewal of Belgium, Annelies Verlindenduring a visit they made to Bogotá, as part of a tour they made in the region that began with a visit to Ecuador.

“We are in Colombia to talk about the fight against the upper layers of organized crime gangs”, Johansson at a press conference in the Colombian capital.

He added that it is important to join the forces of the European Union and Colombia to show the criminal groups that: “We are chasing them and we will do it together.”

The fight against organized crime and the violence associated with it is, for Johansson, a threat to security in Europe, Colombia and Ecuador, another of the countries visited by the senior official, Therefore, it is crucial to strengthen security cooperation with Latin America.

Likewise, the senior official underlined that “the citizens of the European Union and of the world cannot be protected without teamwork” because “the criminals are very professional and work with bases in Colombia and Europe.

The Home Affairs Commissioner announced the commitment of the The European Union will fund a pilot project in Colombia to operationalize police cooperation and information exchange with Europol.

“It is important to start attacking the upper levels of criminal groups,” Johansson said, adding “it’s a shared responsibility to fight these groups” because “We are talking about the security of our citizens in Europe and in Colombia.”

For her part, the Belgian Minister of the Interior said that “criminal organizations must be dismantled” and that “no country can face this fight alone because organized criminal groups involved in drug trafficking operate in different countries”.

In addition, he underlined that “his presence will contribute to strengthening the operational relationsbetween Colombia and Belgium and to “improve the exchange of information”.

The visit will also be an opportunity to discuss migration and mobility, particularly with regard to support for Venezuelan refugees in Colombia and Ecuador.

Commissioner Johansson and Minister Verlinden have planned a visit to the department of Putumayo on Friday, March 3, on the Colombian border with Ecuador and Peru, to learn about the current dynamics of illicit crops and their trafficking in the region, as well as experiences of productive development and environmental protection.

The bone leaders of transnational criminal organizations which are behind the increasing arrival of cocaine shipments by sea in European ports They will be the objective and the priority of the new cooperation that the European Union is seeking to establish with Colombia and Ecuador.

So said Ylva Johansson on her first day in Quito, from tour he is doing through Ecuador and Colombia to increase cooperation against drug trafficking and organized crime.

“The priority is to seek leadership in these organized criminal groups”, indicated the former Swedish Minister Johansson, who proposed to the Council of the European Union to start negotiations for a Bilateral agreement for the exchange of personal data between Europol and the National Police of Ecuador.

The European Commissioner warned that “the criminals are organized like multinationals and they are very strong”, in addition to the fact that “they are organized and adapt very quickly to new circumstances”.

“That’s why we need to be much stronger in our international cooperation. We need a network to fight against a network, and I found here in Ecuador a great will to intensify our cooperation.” Johanson said.

“We are also discussing how we can establish an intelligence center in the port of Guayaquil. (…) The important thing is to have quick access and share information, experiences and knowledge”, added.