The SEACOP VI project and the Colombian Navy have held the international seminar ‘Transnational crimes and their impact on the Amazon’ in the city of Leticia, in the Colombian Amazon. The event, which brought together various institutions from Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, together with various international cooperation projects, dealt with the consequences suffered by the Amazon due to the illicit activities of criminal organisations in the region: illegal mining, trafficking in timber and species, drug trafficking, etc. The objective was to share what the different actors are doing and to establish relationships of trust, coordination and joint work between them. Specialists from civil society, law enforcement representatives from Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru, together with different international organisations, have combined their capacities to obtain a comprehensive vision of the different threats in the region.

The SEACOP VI project, taking into account the complexity, extension and dynamism of the region, aims to support in a coordinated and strategic way the fight against this series of transnational crimes that impact on the Amazon, a key region for drug trafficking to Europe both via the Pacific and the Atlantic.

The meeting was supported by the Delegation of the European Union in Colombia, ECOSOLVE-GITOC, the Foundation for Conservation and Development (FCDS), the European project Support to Law Enforcement in the Fight against Drugs and Organised Crime in Peru, the Passenger and Cargo Control Programme (PCCP) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Mexican Navy and the Canadian Embassy.

Vice Admiral Orlando Grisales highlighted the National Navy’s firm commitment to protecting the environment, as well as appreciating the efforts of all the participating institutions for their presence in Leticia, a strategic enclave in the region.