OEA - CP- Resolución CP CSH SA 410

PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE OEA/Ser.G

ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES CP/CSH/SA-410/25 5 May 2026

COMMITTEE ON HEMISPHERIC SECURITY Original: Spanish

Summary of the meeting held on April 23, 2026 1/

Time: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Place: Simón Bolívar Room

The Second Vice Chair of the Committee, Commander Kele -Ann Bourne Jessen, Alternate Representative of Trinidad and Tobago to the OAS, chaired the first part of the meeting. Subsequently, the First Vice Chair of the Committee, Ambassador Carlos Cherniak, Pe rmanent Representative of Argentina to the OAS, presided over the meeting.

A quorum was established with the presence of representatives of Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Pe ru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, and Uruguay.

The audio recording of the meeting can be found at the following link: http://scm.oas.org/audios/2026/CSH2395_04-23-2026.mp3

1. Adoption of the order of business

The Committee adopted the order of business, document CP/CSH-2395/26 rev. 1.

2. Progress and challenges in the implementation of programs and projects related to promotion of hemispheric cooperation in dealing with criminal gangs

The current context

The invited expert, Mr. Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, Director of Haiti and Caribbean Observatory, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, spoke on the current context. The PowerPoint presentation of Mr. Le Cour Grandmaison can be accessed here.

Progress and challenges

The current context

The invited expert, Mr. Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, Director of Haiti and Caribbean Observatory, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, spoke on the current context. The PowerPoint presentation of Mr. Le Cour Grandmaison can be accessed here.

Progress and challenges

Next, Ms. Inés Echevarría, Project Officer of the Security and Justice Section of the Department of Public Security (DPS) gave a presentation on progress and challenges. The PowerPoint presentation can be accessed here.

1. The statements submitted by the delegations are linked in this document in their original language.- 2The Report of the Department of Public Security (DPS) and the concept note for the meeting were published as documents CP/CSH-2394/26 and CP/CSH-2393/26, respectively.

Dialogue on the topic

The Committee held a dialogue with member state and permanent observer delegations on possible support mechanisms to make progress on the topic. The Chair read out the guiding questions contained in the concept note before offering the floor to delegations. The delegations of The Bahamas, Brazil, Canada Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, The United States Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Panama, Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay addressed the meeting on the matter under consideration.

The Chair thanked the delegates in the room and the distinguished experts invited by the delegations for their comments. The Committee took note of the presentations and the comments of delegations.

Findings

At the end of the dialogue, Mr. Cristian Gabriel Taboada, Chief of the Security and Justice Section of the DPS, presented the following general comments and recommendations from the meeting:

General Comments

• The evolving nature of the gang phenomenon

There is consensus that gangs have become one of the principal drivers of insecurity in some countries. In certain contexts, criminal gangs have ceased to be localized expressions of violence and have evolved into complex, dynamic, multidimensional, highly adaptive structures that are growing

General Comments

• The evolving nature of the gang phenomenon

There is consensus that gangs have become one of the principal drivers of insecurity in some countries. In certain contexts, criminal gangs have ceased to be localized expressions of violence and have evolved into complex, dynamic, multidimensional, highly adaptive structures that are growing and becoming increasingly professionalized and have the capacity to diversify sources of financing, expand territorial control, and establish links with organized crime networks. This evolution increases their resilience to traditional responses and poses significant challenges to public safety and the rule of law.

• Structural causes, consequences, and responses to the gang phenomenon

Gang-related violence leads to serious human rights violations, including homicides, sexual violence, forced displacement, and the recruitment of children and adolescents. This phenomenon is fueled and exacerbated by structural factors such as inequality, social exclusion, and institutional weakness. In this context, there is a need to adopt comprehensive responses that integrate prevention, law enforcement, and criminal prosecution, together with strategies for rehabilitation, social reintegration, and assistance to victims, while ensuring respect for human rights and the proportional use of force.

• The strategic importance of institutional strengthening and professionalization

Strengthening the operational, technical, and training capacities of security and justice institutions is a central element in enhancing the effectiveness and sustainability of responses to gangs. Particular value is placed on specialized training programs, with emphasis on building sustainable3national capacities through processes of institutional ownership, as well as the systematic incorporation of international standards.

• Interagency and hemispheric cooperation as a cornerstone of the response

Interagency and hemispheric cooperation is essential to address a phenomenon that sometimes transcends national borders and is linked to transnational criminal dynamics. In this context, strengthening regional coordination mechanisms, promoting timely exchange of information and best practices, and expanding technical assistance are especially important in order to advance more coherent, coordinated, and effective responses at the hemispheric level.

Recommendations

Based on the above findings the main recommendations are as follows:

strengthening regional coordination mechanisms, promoting timely exchange of information and best practices, and expanding technical assistance are especially important in order to advance more coherent, coordinated, and effective responses at the hemispheric level.

Recommendations

Based on the above findings the main recommendations are as follows:

• Promote comprehensive approaches to addressing gangs that combine prevention, control, and criminal prosecution with strategies for rehabilitation, social reintegration, and victim assistance, while also addressing the structural factors that drive their expansion.

• Strengthen the institutional capacities of the security and justice systems through specialized training, the provision of adequate equipment, the strengthening of infrastructure, and the adoption of international standards, ensuring professionalization, operational effectiveness, and national ownership of initiatives.

• Strengthen coordination between police institutions and justice systems, ensuring coherent responses throughout the entire criminal justice cycle, from investigation to sentencing and through social reintegration and rehabilitation.

• Strengthen hemispheric cooperation, including through the implementation of the Regional Strategy 2025, by promoting the timely exchange of information, including intelligence and prison intelligence, and best practices, as well as coordination among states and multilateral organizations to respond in a coherent manner to the threat posed by criminal gangs. Improve the mapping of gangs and their links to criminal activities.

• Support efforts to develop adaptive operational models to respond to complex and evolving environments, including by strengthening territorial control, deployment capacity, and the logistical resilience of security forces in addressing criminal gangs.

• Consolidate and expand the role of regional mechanisms such as REDPPOL, CLACIP, and AMERIPOL as key platforms for police professionalization, knowledge exchange, and the development of cooperation networks among institutions in the Hemisphere to address the gang phenomenon more effectively.- 43. Transnational organized crime

• Hemispheric cooperation efforts to combat trafficking in persons

The Committee considered and approved the updated list of invited guests for the Eighth Meeting of National Authorities on Trafficking in Persons (RTP VIII), which was published as

gang phenomenon more effectively.- 43. Transnational organized crime

• Hemispheric cooperation efforts to combat trafficking in persons

The Committee considered and approved the updated list of invited guests for the Eighth Meeting of National Authorities on Trafficking in Persons (RTP VIII), which was published as document CP/CSH-2387/26 rev. 3.

4. Programs and projects implemented by the SMS or the IADB

The Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) delivered the presentation “Control of precursor chemicals used in the illicit manufacture of drugs: Challenges, best practices and public -private partnerships.” The pres entation can be accessed at the following links: Spanish, English.

5. Other business

The chair reminded delegations that, on May 5, the Working Group on Trafficking in Persons would hold a full -day meeting to consider the documents to be forwarded to the Eighth Meeting of National Authorities on Trafficking in Persons.

He also recalled that, on May 7, the Committee would hold the Meeting to Discuss the Special Security Concerns of the Small Island and Low -lying Coastal Developing States of the Caribbean, which would focus on addressing the challenges of transnational org anized crime through integrated border, maritime, and digital security frameworks in small island and low -lying coastal developing States of the Caribbean, with a view to strengthening institutional resilience.

He further informed delegations that the meeting of the Committee that had been scheduled for April 30 to consider the substantive issue of trafficking in persons, would be held in May, following the Eighth Meeting of National Authorities on Trafficking in Persons. The new date would be communicated at the earliest opportunity.

The delegation of Guatemala referred to the preparations for the Eighth Meeting of National Authorities on Trafficking in Persons (RTP VIII), noting that an updated version of the Proposed Indicators of the Third Work Plan for Comprehensive Responses to Tr afficking in Persons in the Western Hemisphere (2023–2028) would be published shortly.