The Collapse of Transboundary Crime Networks in South America 

Because illicit trafficking networks cross borders, USAID had funded a regional partnership with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) that let prosecutors and financial intelligence units in six South American countries share data and build joint cases against smuggling syndicates trafficking shark fins and illegal gold. When funding collapsed, so did the ability to exchange this cross-border intelligence. USAID had also helped broker SudWEN, a follow-on enforcement platform that Peru had formally agreed to chair, but the funding freeze hit before it could launch, stalling the regional network. Because trafficking syndicates operate across national lines, no single country can dismantle them alone. Without a shared platform for exchanging data and building joint cases, prosecutors and financial intelligence units in the region have lost the tool they relied on.