Inter-Regional event on Global Cooperation against maritime trafficking
Lisbon, Portugal – 19 June 2024 – The EU-funded SEACOP project on Monday held the first inter-regional event under its 6th phase in Lisbon, Portugal. Titled ‘From America to Africa: Global Cooperation to Disrupt the New Illicit Maritime Route,’ the landmark event brought together around 90 high-level representatives from 20 countries of Latin America, West…
SEACOP’s visit to JIATFS: Strengthening Regional Counter-Narcotics Operations
In April 2024, SEACOP was invited to visit the facility of the US SOUTHCOM’s Joint Inter Agency Task Force South (JIATFS) in Key West, Florida. Recognised globally as a pinnacle of interagency intelligence fusion and operational coordination, JIATFS is a key player in Caribbean regional security. During the visit, the SEACOP Project Coordinator and Regional…
SEACOP-trained Montserrat Unit unveils human trafficking case
On Tuesday 30 January 2024, the SEACOP-supported Royal Montserrat Police Service successfully intercepted a small yacht carrying 19 individuals in a suspected case of human trafficking. Alerted by intelligence services, the Royal Montserrat Police Marine Unit, which was established with SEACOP’s support in 2015 and has continued to receive training from the project ever since,…
News briefing – Week of 6 May
06/06 International Maritime Organization adopts new guidelines to combat wildlife smuggling. The 46th Meeting of the Facilitation Committee (FAL46) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted new ‘Guidelines for the Prevention and Suppression of the Smuggling of Wildlife on Ships Engaged in International Maritime Traffic’. 06/06 Team Europe strengthens cooperation with Latin American and Caribbean…
News briefing – Week of 18 of April
18/04 The global environmental impacts of cocaine. The environmental impacts of cocaine have long been known. Studies raised alarm bells in the 1990s over narco-driven deforestation, soil degradation and pollution in Latin America. Today, the impacts all along the illegal drug supply chain are even better understood and documented but remain underrecognized and underreported. 21/04…
SEACOP holds NSC in St Kitts and Nevis
Last week, SEACOP Regional Coordinator for the Caribbean Karen Clarke organised a national steering committee with local partners in St Kitts and Nevis. The NSC aimed to discuss a number of issues relevant to the partnership between the project and the partner country. Most specifically, the NSC covered the launch of the latest and fifth…
News briefing – week of 28 of March
28/03 Maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. The rapid rise of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea poses a threat to regional security and could fuel jihadist movements coming from inland. 30/03 Armenian criminal gang dismantled in France over counterfeit cigarettes. A total of 11 individuals suspected of being part of an Armenian organised…
SEACOP delivers training to St Lucia’s Joint Maritime Control Unit
This week, SEACOP organised a training for members of the Joint Maritime Control Unit of Saint Lucia, which aimed to equip them with the knowledge and skills pertaining to the control of ships of various types. The sessions, both theoretical and practical exercises -as displayed in the yacht search pictures- revolved around: control methodology, security,…