Transnational Organized Crime as a driver of international cooperation

Transnational Organized Crime and the power of criminal organized groups is usually studied as an illness that is spreading in the international arena. However, it can also be considered a main factor that has generated new stages of cooperation between countries; particularly in the Americas. My paper explains how “Transnational Organized Crime” has caused the construction of a new phase in international cooperation between the United States and the Latin American region. In this sense, some of the countries in the region have accepted U.S. help to fight drug trafficking organizations. This means that with the consent of these countries governments, U.S. authorities have not only provided technology and training programs for the different security forces, but that they have also advised the countries in the creation of their security strategies. The first great example was the Colombia Plan, where the U.S. allocated economic and military resources –including military troops- to fight the drug cartels in the country. Although the success of the Plan can be contested, it is a fact that the Plan created a precedent for further cooperation mechanisms such as the Merida Initiative in Mexico, and the CARSI Initiative in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. Along with these mechanisms, Mexico and Colombia had created new agreements with Central American countries to improve the security apparatus in a national level and in regards to regional security. In sum, my paper explains how the fight against Organized Crime had strengthened the relations of trust and partnership between the United States and its Latin American neighbours, improving the international relations in the Americas.