El Paccto Summit in Santo Domingo: Italy Plays a Key Role in the Fight Against Organized Crime

(ANSA) - SANTO DOMINGO, 16 OTT - Approximately 270 participants from 39 countries—31 from Latin America and the Caribbean and 8 from Europe—gathered in Santo Domingo from October 13 to 15 for the Annual Meeting of El Paccto 2.0, the European program against transnational organized crime. Also present were EU institutions and 30 international organizations, including Interpol, Ameripol, and Gafilat. According to a press release, the focus of the meeting was on the priorities for Euro-Latin American cooperation in the areas of justice and security through 2030. Dominican Attorney General Yeni Berenice Reynoso described El Paccto 2.0 as “the factor that has changed the paradigm of judicial cooperation between Europe and Latin America,” citing Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino as “a model to be emulated.” “Organized crime today is both violent and infiltrative, and it governs through corruption, money laundering, and control of prisons,” explained the program’s deputy director, Judge Giovanni Tartaglia Polcini, in his remarks. The Italian pillar of El Paccto 2.0 is implemented by the International Italo-Latin American Organization (IILA) under the coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and focuses on anti-corruption, money laundering, asset forfeiture, and the prison system. Italian experts Giovanni Russo and Flavia Guarnaccia presented, respectively, prison cooperation—inspired in part by the “41 bis” model—and the first Regional Anti-Corruption Strategy for Latin America. The Strategy, launched in Buenos Aires, will continue in Mexico City in late November and in Brasília in December. The meeting—it should be noted —also coincided with the visit to Rome by Dominican President Luis Abinader, who signed a Declaration of Enhanced Partnership with Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani; this declaration also refers to judicial cooperation based on the “Falcone-Borsellino” program and El Paccto 2.0.
Read article...