29/09/2023
The visit is part of the European EUROFRONT programme, through which the FIIAPP offers Latin American countries the knowledge and experience of the National Police and other Spanish institutions involved in border management
Joint maritime operation on the Spanish-Portuguese border
The visit of the delegation of 19 border specialists from Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay (Tripartite Command) to see first-hand the work against cross-border crime carried out by the Spanish National Police in Madrid, Vigo and Tui (Pontevedra) has come to an end.
This study visit began with a meeting at T4 at Adolfo Suárez Madrid Barajas airport to learn about techniques for identifying and dealing with different crimes at this point of entry. They attended two joint operations: one at sea in international waters between Spain and Portugal and the other on land, to learn first-hand about the cooperation strategies of the European Union’s Integrated Border System. They were also able to learn about the Athens Point, a National Police system shared with other security forces to detect false documentation.
The representatives of the delegation were able to share their respective challenges and strategies regarding cross-border crime prevention. The delegation was composed of representatives of the Ministry of Security, the Federal Police and the National Directorate of Migration of Argentina; the Federal Police and the National Secretariat of Justice of Brazil; and the National Directorate of Migration, the National Anti-Drug Secretariat and the National Police of Paraguay.
The Chief Commissioner and Secretary General of the International Cooperation Division of the National Police, Yolanda Rodríguez, welcomed the delegation, referring to Spain’s experience in the field of border control. For his part, the director of the programme, José Antonio Cambronero, stressed the importance of having good training to be able to face the different challenges faced by security forces at a border.
This activity has been organised by EUROFRONT, a cooperation programme financed by the EU, with the participation of officers from the Spanish National Police, among other institutions, to exchange knowledge and strategies with their counterparts in Latin America.
This exchange of knowledge between regions is part of the methodology implemented by EUROFRONT. The programme develops its action with seven partner countries in a national dimension, but pays special attention to the promotion of the regional dimension, facilitating collective work between countries, the production of common tools and the work in supranational alliances and networks. In September 2022, a delegation made up of specialised officers from Colombia and Ecuador learned first-hand about joint European police operations in Operation Crossing the Strait, Operation Minerva and the port of Algeciras.
Some of the milestones achieved by the EUROFRONT programme and its seven partner countries in the field of Integrated Border Management are the approval of the EUROFRONT cooperation proposal by the MERCOSUR Sub-Working Group No. 18 on Border Integration, the reactivation of the High Level Group on Border Integration and Development (GANIDF) of the Andean Community (CAN), the launch of the High Level Diploma on Integrated Border Management by the University of Salamanca, in collaboration with the University of São Paulo (Brazil), the beginnings of the creation of a Migration Intelligence Network in Ecuador and the study of the “One Stop Control” system by Colombia and Ecuador to improve mobility and security at the Rumichaca border.
