24th Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum – Transatlantic Alliances for Strong Market Economies

Minister Pino pointed out that the Republic of Panama has implemented a drug containment strategy to combat the influx of illicit drugs from other latitudes, especially Colombia and Ecuador. This strategy includes territorial control, strategic alliances with cooperating countries, border security, and actions against organized crime. The law of project 625 is used to measure the impact of the actions of organized crime on the homicide rate. The interdiction network in the Caribbean and the Pacific is also used to carry out maritime interdictions. The Panamanian state has made the largest seizure of cocaine at sea, 5000 packages of cocaine north of Bocas del Toro, thanks to the implementation of new systems in the national air-naval service.

This seizure is a criminal x-ray of the fight against drugs, highlighting the country’s prestigious territorial location and multimodal services, as well as its proximity to producing countries in the South. The legalization of Cannabis in North America has led to increased daily consumption, especially of potent cannabis products, and increased suicides and hospitalizations. This has led to a surge in illicit maritime traffic, with 320 maritime traffic alerts in the Caribbean and 616 in the Pacific in 2021.