BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC – Police chiefs and directors, and senior commanding officers from Central America and the Caribbean, as well as Mexico and Colombia, are ending a two-day regional security meeting here on Wednesday.
Belize is hosting, for the first time, the 28th Ordinary General Assembly of the Chiefs and Directors of Police for Central America, the Caribbean, Colombia, and Mexico, with Home Affairs Minister Kareem Musa describing the event as “historic and unprecedented in many ways.
“Firstly, of course, our Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, assuming the presidency of this commission, being elected as president of this commission for Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Colombia, but also for us to host this event.
“This is the 28th general assembly meeting of the commissioners and directors of police for the region, and of course, this is where you receive an ultra-holistic approach to crime in the sense that it is all of these countries coming together to strategize, to share information, to share intelligence and to come up with a strategy for the region in combating not just transnational crime but crime within our respective jurisdictions – whatever form that may take,” Musa added.
The meeting is being attended by representatives from 15 security organizations, including Haiti and the Bahamas, to discuss transnational crimes affecting the region.
Williams said that the priority areas are those areas that “we would refer to as transnational crime: the issue of drug trafficking, human trafficking, human smuggling, auto theft, and cybercrime.
“Those are the main crimes we would target regarding our regional operations. And so, our discussions will be centered around those types of crime and how we could incorporate other areas that we believe may be essential to citizen security within the Central American region,” the Commissioner of Police added.
Musa said all jurisdictions are prone to flights not just taking off but landing within our respective jurisdictions, and so that is undoubtedly one of the main points that are going to be highlighted and addressed in the form of a strategy by this cohort of commissioners.
Williams said that the collaboration between the security agencies has been essential in the tracking of drug planes northbound from South America. He said the partnership improves data sharing, reiterating that the meeting here will look at a regional crime-fighting strategy.
“As the president, I must provide good leadership and guidance to this esteemed commission. And so, as we assemble to discuss our achievements over the past year and to plan the roadmap for 2024 in terms of how we will be policing the Central American region, we must realize that we cannot just police the region with just the police organizations that are based within the Central American, Colombia, Mexico, and Caribbean region. Still, there needs to be a collaboration between our commission and the ACCP.
“As you would know, the Caribbean stands right next to Central America, and it is only right that we incorporate the Caribbean into our discussions,” he added.
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