A critical workshop on “Intelligence, Research and International Co-operation in the Maritime Domain” was held on 8-11 April 2024 in Quito, Ecuador. Organised by the European Union-funded SEACOP, CRIMARIO and CRIMJUST projects, as well as Europol’s European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats, the training course embodies the collaborative spirit and sustainability promoted by the European Union (EU) in the fight against illicit trafficking.
Ecuador is a focal country of the EU’s efforts to curb illicit maritime trafficking activities. As the country’s strategic trade routes have been increasingly exploited by criminal organisations for cocaine trafficking, the EU has bolstered the synergy of efforts to combat organised crime through a united response using enhanced intelligence gathering and operational coordination.
The Ambassador of the European Union in Ecuador, Charles-Michel Geurts said: “In the framework of the strengthening of our European cooperation in the field of security, this event is a milestone, since it presupposes a close articulation between three different EU projects to provide our best technical expertise to our national partners: SEACOP and CRIMJUST and CRIMARIO. This training aims to consolidate a close link between the law enforcement side, the judicial sector, as well as between the different state agencies. As the European Union, we remain committed shoulder to shoulder in Ecuador’s fight against transnational organised crime. Your fight is our fight.
“Over the past four years, SEACOP has identified a critical need for strengthened national coordination and a strategic approach to disrupt illicit substance trafficking networks,” said SEACOP Project Director, Dominique Bucas, noting that the three-day workshop has been designed with a hands-on, theoretical-practical approach focusing on intelligence, investigation, international cooperation and ethics and integrity in the maritime domain.
Expert speakers from the Colombian Navy Intelligence Naval Group, Colombian National Police, Ecuadorian prosecution, and a Spanish SEACOP expert delivered the seminar, which hosted 15 officials from various institutions involved in the fight against illicit maritime trafficking in Ecuador.
