The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Argentina's Ministry of National Security concluded the 40th International Drug Enforcement Conference last week in Buenos Aires, bringing together more than 500 senior drug enforcement officials and delegates from 110 countries.
The conference focused on strengthening partnerships and intelligence sharing to combat transnational drug trafficking, money laundering, and violence, according to the agencies. Many speakers stressed the need for unified international law enforcement response. DEA Administrator Terry Cole said: "Criminal organizations operate across borders, exploit international financial systems, and threaten the security of nations around the world. No country can defeat that threat alone."
IDEC, now in its 40th year, is described as the world's largest international drug enforcement conference. The opening featured U.S. Ambassador to Argentina Peter Lamelas, Argentina's Acting Attorney General Dr. Eduardo Casal, and Minister of National Security Alejandra Monteoliva. Mexico's Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection Omar Hamid García Harfuch delivered the keynote presentation and later spoke with Cole about U.S.-Mexico law enforcement cooperation.
The U.S. delegation also included Sara Carter, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, and F. Cartwright Weiland, assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs.