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OAS COUNTRIES URGED TO STRENGTHEN COOPERATION
AGAINST TERRORISM AND ORGANIZED CRIME

International cooperation is critical to address the complex problems linked to terrorism and organized crime, the countries of the region were told today at the Organization of American States (OAS). Judge Baltasar Garzón, a leading anti-terrorism investigator in Spain, and Barry Sabin, Chief of the Counterterrorism Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, spoke at a meeting of the OAS Special Committee on Transnational Organized Crime.

Judge Garzón talked about characteristics of national, regional and international criminal networks, and stressed the importance of not only identifying those responsible for crimes, but also determining their methods, networks and sources of financing.

Garzón began his presentation discussing his 18 years of experience working for a judicial entity in Spain that specializes in investigating terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime. Referring to the complexity of identifying a link between transnational organized crime and terrorism, he cautioned that “it is risky in these times to say that it doesn’t exist.” The fact that such collaboration is not readily apparent does not mean that it could not present itself in the future, he added.

Just as the nature of terrorism and organized crime differs from country to country, so does the approach to combating these problems, Garzón explained, mentioning the particular cases of Spain, Colombia, Italy, France, Iraq, the United States and Afghanistan. He called for focused efforts to identify the mechanisms used by criminal organizations and terrorists, and to track their movements, in order to be able to share information effectively and ensure international support based on a worldwide perspective of the issue.

Barry Sabin, for his part, agreed with Judge Garzón on the need to strengthen international cooperation through greater information exchange, and called for an overall strategy geared toward prevention. “While individual terrorist groups or organized groups or countries may vary, based upon the specific ethnic or political motivations that exist, we must speak with a uniform, coordinated voice to strategically and tactically address the threat,” he said.

In welcoming the speakers, the Chair of the Special Committee and Interim Representative of Mexico to the OAS, Juan Sandoval, said that “at the OAS we are sponsoring a political dialogue and renewing our commitments to open avenues for cooperation” on this issue. The committee is working to develop a plan of action against organized crime, which it hopes to complete in time for a meeting of the hemisphere’s ministers of justice scheduled to take place in April in the Dominican Republic, Sandoval added.

Reference: E-283/05