Customs authorities, political officials and business experts from different countries, gathered at the Parliamentary Forum on Intelligence and Security, discussed how to prevent and confront the growing advance of criminal groups that disrupt the good practices of civil society.
Latin America has demonstrated the political will to address a global problem with a regional reaction. Model Law to Combat Illicit Trade and Transnational Organized Crime It is a significant regulatory advance that, if fully implemented in the States, will strengthen the capacity to act against a scourge that crosses borders.
Cooperation
“The Model Law represents an innovative instrument with respect to the comprehensive approach to combating illicit trade in Latin America and the Caribbean,” he said. Werner Ovalle, Regional Vice President of the World Customs Organization and Customs Superintendent of Guatemala, by participating in a panel on Wednesday, June 30.
Ovalle said that “customs is usually linked to tax collection.” However, “the problem is now being addressed from a comprehensive perspective. Its relationship and impact are related to security. This is because many criminal organizations use illicit trade as a form of financing.”
In this context, Ovalle said: “Coordinated work is the focus of the World Customs Organization"He added that "the exchange of information must be done with customs and agencies that have functions at the border, both bilaterally and multilaterally."
The Vice President also warned that “the exchange of intelligence is essential. Without intelligence we cannot be assertive. To do this, we must create a coordination strategy with the Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Criminal prosecution is key to attacking illicit trade.”
"This effort of multilateral cooperation and public-private partnerships is framed within the Model Law," stressed the WCO representative in the region.
Major challenge
Illicit trade and transnational organized crime are complex phenomena that span multiple jurisdictions, activities and underlying crimes, sometimes global in scope, affecting national and international security. “In this regard, the World Economic Forum estimates that more than $2,2 trillion (3% of global GDP) were lost in 2020 due to illicit trade, indicating a significant challenge,” said the World Economic Forum in its speech. Senator Silvia Giacoppo, Alternate Secretary of Parlatino Committees.
“With this in mind, the Model Law, a Crime Stoppers Panama initiativeWas ratified by the Governing Body of Parlatino in February 2021, and its implementation is available to member countries", said Silvia Giacoppo.
“The instrument involved international organizations such as the OECD, FATF, OAS and WCO, also to the academy through the United Nations Peace University", He explained.
The Parlatino legislator said that "given the reality we live in, it is It is pertinent to strengthen the capacity of the State through the Law A model that has institutional mechanisms to prevent crime, as well as collaboration with the private sector, to identify the people and companies involved or related to this type of activities. All this in order for them to be prosecuted and sanctioned by the competent authorities.” In addition, he added: “State capacity must be amplified to guarantee and protect consumers, in particular their rights related to adequate access to reliable information, their education and security, and to prevent the availability of products originating from contraband and counterfeiting.”
Illicit trade routes
For its part, Juan Carlos Buitrago, former Director of the Fiscal and Customs Police of Colombia (POLFA), said: “The Model Law for combating illicit crime and transnational organized crime is the combination that we, the authorities, demand when we want to follow the routes of illicit trade whose complexity involves: drug trafficking, money laundering, arms trafficking and terrorism”. He added: “In addition, the instrument incorporates the figure of border judges, a fundamental tool for crossings that do not have customs control.”
Albert Sandy, Executive Secretary of the Caribbean Customs and Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC), detailed the change in illicit trade routes in the Caribbean. He said that the Model Law has key definitions (illicit trade, electronic commerce, smuggling and transnational organized crime). The approach is adaptable to different legal frameworks in countries and responds to sustainable development objectives in relation to reducing corruption flows and regional and international cooperation.
Best Practices
Within that logic, Werner Ovalle highlighted: “We have strengthened the Information sharing and risk management to have greater assertiveness in customs control, following the good practices of the WCO." In this regard, he stressed the inter-institutional cooperation work that must be carried out.
“Guatemala has a Interinstitutional Council for the Prevention and Combat of Tax Fraud and Customs Smuggling, coordinated by the Superintendency of Tax Administration –SAT– which adopted the National Policy for the Prevention and Combat of Tax Fraud and Customs Smuggling as a public policy,” he commented. He added: “On the other hand, Guatemala, with the support of the United States, has implemented tax posts inter-institutional control in places where strategic routes have been identified of illicit trade.”
Likewise, the Vice President highlighted that "within the framework of the OMA, efforts are being made to have intelligence headquarters (RILO) "in order to generate coordinated and simultaneous operations at an international level, with the participation of customs and police. At the same time, coordination is being established with other international organizations such as the United Nations."
Within the framework of the forum, a Cooperation agreement between Crime Stoppers International and the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC)) to support States in their efforts to eliminate the scourge. It is a major challenge that requires joint work to promote far-reaching changes.
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