The Battle against Transnational Organized Crime in the Americas: Mexico’s Leadership within the OAS

In this article, the author introduces us to the problem of transnational organized crime in the Americas, which, although a relatively new issue on the hemispheric agenda, has come to constitute a serious threat to national security. Not only does organized crime undermine the state, society and the rule of law, but its social, economic and cultural impact has acquired such dimensions that states in the region have been forced to implement emergency cooperation mechanisms to deal with the specific challenges it poses. According to Juan Sandoval, because organized bands of criminals are able to diversify their activities so rapidly, infiltrating and contaminating every aspect of economic, political and social life on the continent, it is increasingly difficult for the authorities to weed them out and bring them to justice. The illegal businesses in which these bands are involved cover such a wide spectrum that they have created bona fide empires of crime, using corruption on all levels as a means to facilitate their activities. In this context, the author highlights the initiatives taken by Mexico, which has followed the path marked out by the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention) and its three complementary protocols. The specialized meetings Mexico has held and its promotion of the setting up of a Special Commission on Organized Crime to combat this alarming problem within the framework of the OAS have set a new trend in regional cooperation.