Tulcán, Ecuador. Strengthening cooperation in military and police intelligence, establishing specific links conducted by the military of both countries, carrying out training exercises in areas such as human rights and IHL, as well as establishing operations to fight organized crime, were some of the agreements established during the high-level meeting on security and defense held last Saturday in Tulcán (Ecuador) by the ministries of Defense and Interior of Colombia and Ecuador.
During this meeting they decided to increase the military and police presence in specific points of the border that were prioritized according to the analysis of the security situation in the region.
Among the specific obligations established by the national police of the two nations two Ecuadorian officers will be sent to Tumaco to receive first hand information of the operations carried out by Colombia in the area and one more for intelligence that will be part of the center of joint information that will be installed in Ipiales (Colombia), with the purpose of carrying out a permanent information exchange on issues such as illegal mining, human trafficking and fuel, as well as money laundering.
On the part of the Military Forces, the agreements were focused on the implementation of new mechanisms for the exchange of information, presence of military units in critical points of the border, work to exchange of experiences in the field and the arrival of a team of Colombian military to Ecuador to exchange successful experiences, particularly in protocols for the operation of troops and civilians.
In the same way, joint civil operation operations will be carried out by the Armed Forces, with the purpose of working with the communities and thus generating an environment of comprehensive action by both States in the border area.
This binational meeting was attended by Deputy Minister of Defense for International Policies and Affairs, Aníbal Fernández de Soto, and his Ecuadorian counterpart, Felipe Vega de la Cuesta, as well as the Deputy Minister of the Interior of the neighboring country, Andrés de la Vega, and the Military and Police commanders of the two nations.
Source: Ministry of National Defense
