Joint Statement on Defending Hemispheric Sovereignty

The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Begin Text:

We, the Heads of State and Government participating in the Shield of the Americas, jointly declare our intention to strengthen the resilience of the Western Hemisphere through the following three pillars of the Shield of the Americas: Economic, Security, and Multilateral Coordination.

To this end, we jointly declare our intention to undertake the following actions, in accordance with our respective international and domestic legal obligations:

• Defend our economies by enhancing economic cooperation; exploring investment screening mechanisms; safeguarding critical minerals supply chains through diversified and reliable sourcing; and promoting trusted supplier regulations for digital infrastructure, applied on a non-discriminatory basis.  We recognize that durable security requires economic development, stable jobs, and tangible opportunities for the people, and that economic sovereignty is successfully defended when capital entering our nations is transparent and verifiable.

• Defend democratic governance against armed narco-terrorist networks including coordinating on sanctions, designations, and financial actions against terrorists and criminals; expansion of civilian law enforcement; and supplying humanitarian and messaging assistance to defend popular will.

• Defend and promote mutual respect for national sovereignty and each nation’s self-determination through multilateral fora to coordinate and advance shared objectives and proposals, such as catalyzing international enforcement actions against transnational organized criminal groups or pursuing needed reforms to multilateral organizations.

In furtherance of these three pillars, participating states intend to strengthen cooperation through enhanced intelligence sharing; facilitate access, where appropriate, to security technologies and capabilities; promote training and professional development of human resources; and expand the exchange of best practices. Participating states also intend to deepen cooperation on investment and economic matters and to strengthen consultation on and coordination of common positions on issues of shared interest in regional and multilateral fora.

Recognizing that an immediate and universally shared threat in our hemisphere is that posed by transnational narco-terrorist organizations, which endanger the peace and security of our hemisphere along with the safety, security, and prosperity of our citizens, we announce today the first joint action under our newly announced pillars: individual and collective action to confront the scourge of narco-terrorism.  As such, we declare our intention to impose, as applicable and in accordance with our respective international and domestic legal obligations, asset freezes; immigration and visa restrictions for members, associates, and supporters of the organizations; and criminal liability for individuals knowingly providing material support, including logistical support, to the organizations, among other measures.  This first joint action will focus on the 24 organizations listed below, however they are denominated in each of our countries.

To facilitate these aims, we intend to co-sign a formal request to the President of the Organization of American States Permanent Council requesting a meeting of consultation to decide on the establishment of an Organ of Consultation under Articles 6 and 13 of the Inter-American Treaty on Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty).  Once the formal meeting of the Organ of Consultation is convoked, we intend to participate at the ministerial level to consider adopting a resolution promoting and facilitating collective action against narco-terrorist organizations under the Rio Treaty.  States that participate in the Shield that are not currently parties to the Rio Treaty declare their support for this initiative and express their determination to contribute to it in accordance with and to the extent possible under their respective international and domestic legal obligations, including by participating in the Organ of Consultation to the extent permitted under its Rules of Procedure.

The 24 groups:

1. Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)
2. Tren de Aragua
3. Carteles Unidos
4. Cartel del Golfo (Gulf Cartel)
5. La Nueva Familia Michoacana
6. Cartel del Noreste
7. Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG)
8. Cartel de Sinaloa
9. Gran Grif
10. Viv Ansanm
11. Los Lobos
12. Los Choneros
13. Barrio 18
14. Cartel de Los Soles
15. Clan del Golfo
16. Primeiro Comando da Capital
17. Comando Vermelho
18. Chone Killers
19. Los Viagras
20. Juarez Cartel (La Línea)
21. FARC Dissident Groups, including FARC-Estado Mayor Central, FARC-Segunda Marquetalia, or aliases, affiliates, and successor groups
22. ELN
23. Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso)
24. Los Tiguerones

Shield of the Americas participants unite efforts to defend their sovereignty by collectively imposing sanctions and other measures on these 24 narco-terrorist groups.

End Text.

<input type="hidden" data-filter="111001000111">