Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 10
U.S., Peru Launch Crime Crackdown Cooperation as Peru Joins 12-plus-Nation Shield of the Americas
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 10

U.S., Peru Launch Crime Crackdown Cooperation as Peru Joins 12-plus-Nation Shield of the Americas

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 10

Summary

  • Marco Rubio said the United States will work with Peru’s new government against organized crime after meeting newly elected President Keiko Fujimori, though he gave no operational details.
  • Peru also joined the Shield of the Americas, a Trump-backed coalition of more than a dozen Latin American countries aimed at coordinating action against cross-border criminal groups.
  • Rubio called the groups “transnational terrorist organizations” that ignore sovereign borders and said helping Peru also serves U.S. national interests.
  • Fujimori, who campaigned on ending a surge in crime, said Peru’s experience confronting terrorism made regional cooperation necessary as criminal violence spreads across borders.

Insights

Are these new cross-border security pacts setting the stage for an unprecedented regional war against shadow economies?
Will declaring cartels as terrorists trigger a dangerous new wave of human rights abuses hidden behind military secrecy?
Can a military coalition truly stop environmental devastation when illegal gold mining is now out-earning the cocaine trade?