Italian Mission to Guayaquil: A Joint Front with Ecuador Against Transnational Mafias

(ANSA) - QUITO, 12 OTT - Immediately following the major seizure of 1.7 metric tons of cocaine at the port of Guayaquil, an Italian delegation led by General Alessio Nardi—advisor to Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on security, justice, cooperation, and development policies—and by the Italian Ambassador to Ecuador, Giovanni Davoli, brought a message today to the country’s main port calling for ever-closer cooperation against transnational mafias. Accompanying Nardi and Davoli—according to a statement—were magistrates Giovanni Tartaglia Polcini, legal advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and deputy director of the European program El Paccto 2.0, Paolo Di Sciuva, director of the Itajus 2 program (initiatives carried out by IILA), CSM councilors Edoardo Cilenti and Dario Scaletta, and Dr. Alessandro Quattrocchi. In Guayaquil—it is noted—cocaine trafficking routes intertwine with legal trade bound for Europe and North America, via contaminated containers, front companies, and infiltrated logistics chains. Cocaine trafficking routes originate from that port, and pressure from cartels and transnational organized crime is concentrated in that area. The Italian delegation visited the Port Terminal, discussing access control, container risk analysis, and new surveillance technologies. This was followed by a meeting with port executives and exporters’ associations to launch a cross-sectoral dialogue aimed at stronger and more effective public-private prevention efforts. The final stop of the visit was the Centro de Fusión de Inteligencia, a facility funded by the European Union that is of great interest to Italy with a view to strengthening international cooperation in this crucial sector. Ecuador’s Deputy Minister of the Interior, Jorge Rivadaneira, accompanied the Italian delegation throughout the mission in the coastal city. The goal is to strengthen the exchange of information between judicial authorities and police forces and to lay the groundwork for new training and technical assistance initiatives.
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