Security is no longer a purely national issue. In the 21st century, organized crime operates like a multinational corporation. It produces in one country, transports across continents, and launders money through sophisticated financial systems. Under this logic, Colombia has formalized its intention to integrate into the European coalition against organized crime, a step aimed at connecting the country’s investigative capabilities with Europe’s intelligence architecture.
The announcement marks an important shift in international cooperation policy; it is no longer about isolated operations or bilateral treaties, but about entering a permanent criminal-information exchange system.
In practical terms, it means an investigation launched in a Colombian port city could be cross-checked in real time with European port data, financial routes, or criminal profiles stored in international databases.
Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez explains in an interview with La FM that “one of the main objectives is to share strategic intelligence information in a timely manner to dismantle networks primarily dedicated to drug trafficking and money laundering, both in Colombian and European territory.” The statement reveals the core of the agreement: Attacking the entire criminal chain, not just its visible link.
An international network against criminal networks
The European coalition against organized crime operates under frameworks coordinated by continental agencies such as Europol and cooperation structures of the European Union. It is not a symbolic treaty; it is an operational system that integrates prosecutors, police forces, financial analysts, and intelligence units.
Participating countries include:
- Spain
- France
- Germany
- The Netherlands
- Belgium
- Italy
- Portugal
- Sweden
- Denmark
- Finland
- Ireland
- Poland
- Greece
- Austria
- Czech Republic
- Luxembourg
In addition, associated countries outside the European bloc — such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Switzerland — collaborate through specific operational agreements.
The main objective is to dismantle transnational criminal structures dedicated to:
- International drug trafficking
- Money laundering
- Human trafficking
- Arms trafficking
- Financial cybercrime
- High-value smuggling
In this context, Colombia does not enter as a passive observer but as a key player. Europe is the primary destination for cocaine produced in South America; therefore, the criminal chain begins in Colombian territory but becomes consolidated in the European continent.
How the exchange of strategic intelligence will work
One of the most relevant points of the agreement is the exchange of strategic intelligence information. Unlike traditional cooperation — which depends on slow judicial requests — the new framework is based on shared analysis in near real time.
In practical terms, it will be implemented through four mechanisms:
1. Shared data platforms
Colombia will be able to upload and consult criminal profiles, suspicious maritime routes, shell companies, and financial movements in databases used by European agencies. This makes it possible to connect cases that previously appeared unrelated.
Example: A company investigated in Cartagena could match a front company in Rotterdam within minutes.
2. Joint investigation teams
Prosecutors and analysts will work simultaneously on the same case. The goal is not simply to send information, but to build investigations collectively from the beginning.
3. Early alerts
If a European port detects a new pattern of container contamination, the alert will immediately reach Colombian authorities. Likewise, new shipping methods originating in Latin America can be anticipated in Europe.
4. Integrated financial intelligence
Anti-money laundering units will share suspicious banking reports, triangulated transfers, and crypto-transactions linked to criminal networks. This last point is crucial. Today, money moves faster than drugs. That is why cooperation increasingly focuses on tracking capital, not just seizing shipments.
The road map Colombia must follow
Integration into the coalition will not be automatic or immediate. It is a gradual technical and legal process requiring internal adjustments within Colombian institutions to operate under European standards for sensitive information exchange.
The first step will be regulatory harmonization, through which the country must adapt protocols on data protection, digital chain of custody, and intelligence classification so they align with European systems.
At the same time, security agencies must submit their technological platforms to cybersecurity certification processes. This will allow Colombian systems to connect to international databases without compromising security or confidentiality.
The objective is not merely to send information but to integrate into a protected network operating under strict cybersecurity standards.
Once that phase is completed, operational training will begin. Investigators, financial analysts, and prosecutors will receive specialized instruction in European criminal investigation methodologies, especially network analysis, financial traceability, and large-scale data processing. The aim is for teams to work under a shared technical and analytical language.
The process will continue with pilot investigations primarily focused on maritime drug trafficking. These cases will test interoperability between systems and coordination among authorities.
Only after validating results will Colombia participate permanently in multinational operations as an active operational partner within the coalition.
What Colombia expects from the alliance with Europe
The Colombian government seeks cooperation that can strike at the financial heart of criminal organizations. Much of the illicit profit ends up in European financial systems, so access to that information would prevent structures from rebuilding after each seizure or arrest.
Another expectation is improved anticipation capacity. When a European port detects a new container contamination method or route change, the information could immediately reach Colombia, allowing authorities to prevent operations before they occur. Cooperation shifts from reactive to preventive.
A further objective is to strengthen judicial processes. Many investigations are weakened due to a lack of internationally valid evidence in court. Joint case-building will facilitate transnational evidence, increasing the likelihood of convictions against financial and logistical leaders, not just transporters.
Europe, for its part, seeks to intervene in criminal chains at their origin. Instead of intercepting shipments at the destination, it can act during the production and export phases, reducing drug flows into its internal markets.
Is this a real advance in the fight against organized crime?
The fundamental difference of this agreement lies in its operational depth. Traditionally, international cooperation occurred after the crime through judicial requests that took weeks or months.
The new model proposes simultaneous investigations and near-real-time analysis. The change implies moving from seizing shipments to dismantling entire organizations.
Drug trafficking is addressed as a global economy in which production occurs in Latin America and financial accumulation in Europe. Without connecting both ends, criminal networks always manage to rebuild.
Therefore, rather than increasing visible seizures, the impact would be structural weakening of Colombia’s organized crime. Capturing financial operators could reduce reinvestment capacity and consequently lower violent disputes between armed groups. The security effect would be gradual and less spectacular, but more durable.
The greatest expected result will not be immediate nor necessarily visible in short-term statistics. It would involve a gradual deterioration of criminal networks as they lose access to laundering circuits. Without constant capital flow, organizations reduce expansion and recruitment capacity.
Additionally, cutting illegal financing decreases violent fragmentation among groups, a phenomenon that intensifies when large revenues are at stake. In this sense, international cooperation could indirectly affect territorial violence.
Colombia’s eventual incorporation into the European coalition represents a conceptual transformation in security policy. The focus shifts from territory, crops, or shipments toward the complete criminal economy.
The question is no longer where the drugs are, but where the money is. If intelligence exchange functions as planned, the agreement could become one of the most significant advances in international security cooperation for the country in the last decade.
It will not eliminate Colombia’s organized crime, but it will force criminal networks to operate in a landscape where borders no longer provide protection.