The authorities of Chile have communicated this Tuesday that the Andean country becomes part of the coalition known as Shield of the Americas, a bloc made up of conservative-leaning governments whose central purpose is to combat drug trafficking cartels. This alliance already has the participation of more than a dozen Latin American nations.
"Chile has decided to adhere to the international initiative Shield of the Americas, a framework for voluntary coordination among American governments that will allow for more effective combat against transnational organized crime, a reality that permeates Chilean communities today," the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed in a statement.
In that same text, Foreign Affairs emphasizes that entry into this platform will translate into "immediate operational benefits" for Chile, including access to key information against organized crime, new data analysis systems, and smoother border coordination with Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, and other countries in the region, in addition to other operational advantages.
"The Tren de Aragua or Mexican criminal groups such as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel are real and complex threats that require regional coordination," Foreign Affairs has pointed out to justify adherence to this mechanism, in which "each State --it has clarified-- acts in accordance with its respective international and national legal obligations."
The initiative also includes Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States.