21St Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum – Illicit trade, trade-based money laundering, adversarial foreign investments, adversarial threats
Professor Celina Realuyo elucidated the transformative impact of globalization and digitalization on illicit networks. She elucidated that while globalization has facilitated access to goods, services, and information since the conclusion of the Cold War, it has concurrently enabled criminal networks to expand their activities, including drug trafficking, human smuggling, and arms trade, across international borders. In regions such as Latin America and the Caribbean, factors such as corruption, weak institutions, inequality, and natural disasters render countries more susceptible to organized crime. Furthermore, she highlighted that the United States continues to serve as a significant destination for illicit drugs and irregular migration while simultaneously being a substantial source of illicit financial flows and weapons.
Realuyo underscored the increasing infiltration of criminal and terrorist networks into cyberspace. These groups have employed technologies such as the dark web, social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, as well as cryptocurrencies, to recruit members, engage in illegal trade, and launder money. Notably, these groups demonstrated rapid adaptation during the COVID-19 pandemic by expanding their online operations while governments prioritized public health responses. She concluded that governments must enhance international cooperation, enhance analyst training, and coordinate across agencies to effectively address the escalating digitalization of illicit networks and the broader cyber threats that pose a threat to global security.
