GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Senior law enforcement officials are gathering at the INTERPOL Americas Regional Conference in Guyana to address the region’s most pressing organized crime threats.
The two-day (23 and 24 September) event will examine emerging criminal trends, share operational experiences and identify practical solutions to tackle transnational crime affecting communities throughout the Americas.
The conference was opened by the Prime Minister of Guyana Hon. Brig. (R’td) Mark Phillips, Minister of Home Affairs, Oneidge Walrond, the Commissioner of the Guyana Police Force Dr Clifton Hicken, Lucas Philippe, President of INTERPOL and Valdecy Urquiza, Secretary General of INTERPOL.
With INTERPOL’s second Global Financial Fraud Assessment Report highlighting that between 2024 and 2025 fraud-related global alerts across the Americas and the Caribbean increased by 40 per cent, tackling financial crime is high on the agenda.
Combating money laundering, the increasing misuse of cryptocurrencies by organized crime groups and experiences in tracking, tracing and recovering criminal assets will be key areas for discussion.
Tackling priority transnational crime threats
The conference will also highlight how INTERPOL's new Operational Task Force Model can support member countries in addressing specific regional or transnational criminal threats requiring enhanced coordination, intelligence sharing and regional cooperation, with a view to closing intelligence gaps.
Hon. Brig. (R’td) Mark Philips, Prime Minister of Guyana said:
“Once an investigation crosses a national boundary, any delay can shift the advantage to the offender and place justice further out of reach.
“Our cooperation must therefore move as swiftly as the threat itself. INTERPOL provides the means to which that cooperation can, and must, be achieved.
“Intelligence cannot protect the public when it fails to reach the official required to act upon it. International information must reach the frontline in time to influence an investigation subject to the laws and safeguards that preserve public confidence.”
INTERPOL President Lucas Philippe said:
“Ultimately we all want the same thing: to help officers prevent crime, investigate it and bring criminals to justice. Our structures should make that work easier rather than add complexity.
“That means clear channels, standard procedures, tools that work together and making the best possible use of what already exists.
“That is why having all the key stakeholders around the table today matters.”
A shared advantage
INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said:
“INTERPOL is here to turn strategy into action and deliver results where it matters the most – on the front line.
“The Americas is not just part of global security. It is central to it.
“What happens at its ports, at its borders and throughout its digital networks shapes the safety and security of the entire world.
“We need to turn that shared reality into a shared advantage.”
In addition to some 80 senior law enforcement officials from 27 countries across the region and beyond, the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP), CARICOM Caribbean Community Secretariat Regional Coordinating Mechanism, CARICOM IMPACS Implementation Agency for Crime and Security, Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC), Organization of American States (OAS) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) are also in attendance as observers.
