Security Cooperation, Coca Cultivation, and Citizen Security
Date of Publication
2021 12:00 AM
Security Theme
Transnational Organized Crime
Keywords
Transnational Organized Crime, Common Security, Money Laundering, Socio-economics, European Union, Trafficking
Description
Although there are a variety of potential risks the European Union faces from outside EU-member states, its relationship with the Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) region should be prioritised due to the looming security threats and risks it poses to EU citizens, economic markets, and trade. The EU- LAC Security Cooperation (European Parliament, 2017) is not yet a priority for the EU despite the threats of common interest laid in the 2015 EU-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Action Plan (European Council, 2015). These include the following: arms trafficking, arms reduction and disarmament, corruption and money laundering, crime and organised crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and terrorism. In the EU-CELAC conference, the need for a collective response to the issues was discussed as were the various ways the EU could support the region. The EU’s primary concerns in the region are first, the fight against drugs and narcotics, followed by crime and violence prevention, the smooth transition of peace and conflict resolution in Colombia, and finally, the crisis 1 EU-LAC Series: Part I management of the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (ISS, 2017) with the participation of some Latin American countries. In the first instalment of this series on EU-LAC relations, I will present two case studies of Latin American countries that are current security threats to the EU due to the instability in the region. It is in the EU’s interests to nurture their relations with the region as it may help prevent and deter secondary effects on the European Union. According to the 2020 Global Peace Index (GPI) (Institute for Economics & Peace, 2020) report featured below, the region experienced a deterioration in peacefulness, largely due to Mexico’s ongoing ‘War on Drugs’; Colombia’s struggle with Organised Crime Groups (OCG); civil unrest in Venezuela; and criminal gangs in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. The region has sought help from external intergovernmental organisations (Schultze-Kraft, 2010) to help weak and struggling criminal justice systems and impunity.
Security Cooperation, Coca Cultivation, and Citizen Security
Although there are a variety of potential risks the European Union faces from outside EU-member states, its relationship with the Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) region should be prioritised due to the looming security threats and risks it poses to EU citizens, economic markets, and trade. The EU- LAC Security Cooperation (European Parliament, 2017) is not yet a priority for the EU despite the threats of common interest laid in the 2015 EU-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Action Plan (European Council, 2015). These include the following: arms trafficking, arms reduction and disarmament, corruption and money laundering, crime and organised crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and terrorism. In the EU-CELAC conference, the need for a collective response to the issues was discussed as were the various ways the EU could support the region. The EU’s primary concerns in the region are first, the fight against drugs and narcotics, followed by crime and violence prevention, the smooth transition of peace and conflict resolution in Colombia, and finally, the crisis 1 EU-LAC Series: Part I management of the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (ISS, 2017) with the participation of some Latin American countries. In the first instalment of this series on EU-LAC relations, I will present two case studies of Latin American countries that are current security threats to the EU due to the instability in the region. It is in the EU’s interests to nurture their relations with the region as it may help prevent and deter secondary effects on the European Union. According to the 2020 Global Peace Index (GPI) (Institute for Economics & Peace, 2020) report featured below, the region experienced a deterioration in peacefulness, largely due to Mexico’s ongoing ‘War on Drugs’; Colombia’s struggle with Organised Crime Groups (OCG); civil unrest in Venezuela; and criminal gangs in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. The region has sought help from external intergovernmental organisations (Schultze-Kraft, 2010) to help weak and struggling criminal justice systems and impunity.
