Marc REINA TORTOSA

LL.M, political scientist and specialist in public international law, Marc Reina Tortosa has been working for more than 13 years managing projects related to security and justice. Co-founder of several police cooperation networks between the EU and Latin America and former Thematic Manager of the Police Cooperation Component of the EU Programme EL PAcCTO 1.0, he has participated in various publications on Latin American high risk criminal networks, Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessments and the use of Artificial Intelligence to commit crimes. 

Marc Reina Tortosa has also been expert in the creation of several Task Forces on environmental crimes and trafficking in human beings. In addition, he is co-Action Leader of the EMPACT HRCN OA 8.3 and had functions as Action Leader in several EMPACTs of the European Union. He also worked for several years for civil society organisations in the areas of access to justice, reintegration of persons deprived of liberty and children rights. 

He is currently the Senior Executive Manager of the EU flagship Programme on justice and security, EL PACCTO 2.0, whose aim is to assists Latin American and Caribbean partners in the fight against transnational organised crime.

Mapping and Profiling the most threatening Criminal Networks in Latin America and the Caribbean

The identification, mapping and profiling of the criminal networks with the greatest impact operating in Latin America and the Caribbean is essential for the orientation of public policies on security and justice, and the operational dismantling of these organised crime groups. The 28 high risk criminal networks identified operate transnationally and have relations between different countries and regions, including the European Union. The study used key indicators such as the illicit economies they move, the criminal markets where they operate, their origins and modi operandi, their penetration of state structures and their internal governance to measure the impact of criminal groups at the national and regional level. 

The study resulted in a set of findings that were partly known, such as their main criminal activities (drug trafficking, human trafficking) and their polycriminality with a very strong expansion into environmental crimes such as illegal gold mining, as well as the use of corruption mechanisms and infiltration of state structures to operate more easily.In addition, the analysis emphasised the use of structures and brokers by large criminal groups to launder money, provide cyber security or facilitate logistics.