Q24N – An INTERPOL-coordinated ‘EL PAcCTO’ operation (November 20, 2020 – March 5, 2021) has seen a team of investigators from across Latin America locate and arrest 13 of their most wanted fugitives.
Law enforcement from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru took part in the EL PAcCTO operation.
Wanted for serious and often horrific crimes, including murder, kidnapping and sexual violence against women, the fugitives were all subject to INTERPOL Red Notices – a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a wanted person.
Their names also featured on a list of priority fugitive targets established by INTERPOL’s Fugitive Investigative Support (FIS) unit and law enforcement in eight Latin American countries in late 2020.
“These results are only possible thanks to the permanent EL PAcCTO network that has been built up over time between national fugitive investigators,” said Stephen Kavanagh, INTERPOL’s Executive Director of Police Services.
“Each year, this network gets stronger and it becomes even harder for criminals to escape justice by fleeing from one Latin America country to another,” added Kavanagh.
EL PAcCTO is a European Union-funded cooperation program that seeks to strengthen capacities and facilitate international cooperation. Its partnership with INTERPOL aims to create and develop a permanent mechanism for fugitive investigations across Latin America.
First launched in 2018, INTERPOL-coordinated EL PAcCTO operations have so far led to the location and arrest of 79 fugitives as well as 28 positive locations.
