Article 8 - Europe Latin America programme of assistance against transnational organised crime (EL PAcCTO): The Jaguar Network

Abstract

This work was carried out following an environmental crime workshop held by the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL). As we know, environmental crime has no boundaries and speaks all languages, so international support and cooperation are key to undermining and tackling criminality related to the environment and nature. Many international cooperation programmes exist: bilateral agreements, usually between neighbouring countries with similar issues, such as Portugal and Spain; training and capacity-building institutions like CEPOL; and coordinating and supporting organisations like Europol. The work presented here focuses on programmes that aim to promote cooperation between countries and organisations that share the same interests, like the Europe Latin America programme of assistance against transnational organised crime (EL PacCTO), which has supported 
the development of a dedicated programme on environmental crime called the Jaguar Network. In this article, we will try to answer the following question: ‘What new operational results does Jaguar Network bring to tackling transnational environmental crime?’ We first present a brief introduction to international institutions, focusing on cooperation bodies. Then, to try to identify and present an example of operational data on the Jaguar Network, we follow an on-the-ground operation that took place in Portugal and in other countries in Europe through Europol’s EMPACT coordinated effort (Europol, n.d.).