Institutions make coordinated efforts to fight organised crime

Coordination between institutions is a basic requirement for fighting organised crime in Latin America. The EL PAcCTO project therefore provided remote advice to adapt the work of the Specialised Multidisciplinary Teams (SMTs) to the new situation during the confinement.  But what are these teams and how do they work?  

The SMTs are national teams that specialise in pursuing aspects of transnational organised crime. These teams are created under constant law, meaning they need not change the legislation, and their institutions take part voluntarily.   

The remote advice action to SMTs was organised by the justice systems and police cooperation components of EL PAcCTO, a programme funded by the European Union and managed by the FIIAPP and Expertise France with support from IILA and Camões.  

The activity was a continuation of the work already carried out and was an EL PAcCTO priority, defined jointly with the partner countries in Latin America: improving inter-institutional coordination.  

The remote consultancy has encouraged inter-institutional work,  and has created appropriate conditions for a harmonious approach to dealing with organised crime and trafficking in human beings by different institutions. The activity also included additional support for stamping out  human trafficking. Two Spanish institutions also took part in the consultancy initiative: the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior.