ICAIE Partners with the Organization of American States (OAS) DTOC on a Dialogue in Chile on Fighting Illicit Economies

ICAIE and OAS DTOC will also Establish a Task Force on Countering Illicit Economies through a hemispheric public-private partnership in the Americas.

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, June 9, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- ICAIE Partners with the Organization of American States (OAS) Department against Transnational Organized Crime (DTOC) to co-host a joint regional dialogue with the private sector on 12 June 2025 in Santiago to strengthen international cooperation in the fight against illicit economies in Chile and the Southern Cone of the Americas, and to Establish a Task Force on Countering Illicit Economies.

The International Coalition Against Illicit Economies (ICAIE), a global policy leader in advancing public-private partnerships to counter illicit economies, launched a regional initiative in Chile to fight illicit trade and organized crime in South America. Chile is strategically located in South America, connecting the trans-Pacific economies of Latin America and Asia, and serves as a bridge to bi-directional trade eastward in the Southern Cone, and onward to the South Atlantic and Indian oceans. Chile is also a dynamic center for international commerce, trade, and finance that is being severely impacted by criminal market penetration and multiple socio-economic factors.

In recent years, Chile and other countries in South America have seen an acceleration of organized crime and illicit trade from drug cartels, local gangs, and Eurasian mafias, giving rise to greater violence, insecurity, and corruption. As a result, Southern Cone markets are now flooded with an array of narcotics, illicit goods, and other contraband, either manufactured illegally within the country, or smuggled across borders, ports, free trade zones (FTZs), and surrounding hubs of illicit trade including in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and increasingly from China, and other countries.

More globally, illicit trade continues to present a corrosive threat to the safety, security, and economic prosperity of all nations. From fake medicines, illegal tobacco products, and counterfeited electronics, apparel and other consumer goods to smuggled goods and trade-based money laundering, these activities undermine fair markets, erode public trust, and fuel organized crime. The vulnerability of some Free Trade Zones (FTZs) and ports continues to be exploited by criminal networks and other bad actors.

To elevate awareness of these cross-border criminalities, ICAIE is partnering with the Organization of American States (OAS), Department against Transnational Organized Crime (DTOC), and the Cámara Nacional de Comercio Servicios y Turismo de Chile (CNC) to advance cooperation across sectors through a whole-of-society framework to fight illicit economies in Chile and the Southern Cone of the Americas. In support of that goal, the two organizations will co-host a dialogue on 12 June 2025 in Santiago de Chile. ICAIE is also supporting a roundtable on the risks and challenges posed by illicit trade in Free Trade Zones (FTZs) chaired by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Subsecretaría de Relaciones Económicas Internacionales, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Chile on 13 June.

"With broad-based political, social and private sector support from key partners in the region and international community, the project can help to ensure markets become a place for 'clean business' in Chile and in participating Southern Cone countries, garnering greater trust and integrity across markets and supply chains," said David M. Luna, Executive Director, ICAIE.

ICAIE and OAS DTOC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in early 2025 to collaborate and establish a framework for cooperation. This partnership will include joint research projects on the harms posed by illicit economies, joint dialogues and meetings, and joint training and capacity-building seminars on fighting transnational organized crime, illicit trade, and money laundering including in hubs of illicit trade, FTZs, and ports.

ICAIE and OAS DTOC will also co-chair a Task Force on Countering Illicit Economies through a hemispheric public-private partnership.

Upon the successful completion of the Santiago Dialogue on 12 June, coalition partners will develop a set of recommended policy initiatives (“deliverables”) that could be implemented in Chile, and other countries, in order to improve the country’s ability to combat illicit trade through greater enforcement and regulatory actions. This plan of action will not only be important to showcase Chilean AIT leadership in key diplomatic arenas such as the OAS, OECD, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), and World Customs Organization (WCO), but it will also provide the platform to report back to other stakeholders on progress and implementation at a follow-up Roundtable gathering in Fall 2025.

ICAIE brings together diverse champions across sectors and communities, including governments and prominent organizations from the private sector and civil society to mobilize energies to combat cross-border illicit threats that endanger U.S. national security, global supply chains, and peace.
Learn more at: https://icaie.com/.

David Luna
International Coalition Against Illicit Economies (ICAIE)
email us here
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn