Prosecutors of Colombia and Ecuador study to create a transnational investigation team
Ecuadornews:
The heads of the Colombian and Ecuadorian Prosecutor’s Offices will meet tomorrow and Friday in Bogota to advance strategies against organized crime and study the possible creation of a transnational crime investigation team, the Public Prosecutor’s Office reported in Quito today.
The Ecuadorian prosecutor, Carlos Baca, will visit Thursday, his Colombian counterpart, Néstor Martínez Neira, with the purpose of establishing research strategies related to the fight against organized transnational crime, the Prosecutor said in a statement.
During the meeting, the tax authorities of both countries will exchange information about the open inquiries about a car bomb attack that occurred on January 27 in the city of San Lorenzo, in the coastal province of Esmeraldas, in the northwest of Ecuador, bordering with Colombia.
That attack has been attributed to alleged international drug gangs that have been beaten in anti-drug operations carried out by the Ecuadorian security forces. About this investigation, Baca mentioned in statements reproduced by his office that “the situation is delicate” and that the institution “must be prepared to react to this type of events”.
In addition, the Ecuadorian Prosecutor indicated that the Bogota meeting will address the issue of the investigation of alleged assets that the rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) would have in Ecuador.
Likewise, Baca and Martínez Neira will talk about the specialization of prosecutors, the training of civilian investigators, technical assistance in the matter of domain extinction and the exchange of experiences.
It is also planned to sign a “Cooperation Agreement on transnational organized crime, with emphasis on large-scale narcotics trafficking, trafficking in persons, corruption and terrorism.”
Finally, according to the text of the Ecuadorian Prosecutor’s Office, “a framework document will be proposed for the creation of transnational crime investigation teams” (I)