What is called Transnational Organized Crime holds an ever more dominant position in the globalized economy, making it all the more difficult for law enforcers to address. The term refers to organized crime coordinated across national borders, and involves systematic trafficking in drugs and firearms, migrant smuggling, and, most recently, cybercrime, among others. To address the issue, on 15 December U.S. President Joe R. Biden Jr. issued two new Executive Orders declaring this an epidemic of national emergency and formally establishing the U.S. Council on Transnational Organized Crime (USCTOC).
In the White House order, the “direct and escalating threat” is to public health, public safety, and national security, and contributes to climate change. According to Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, a key reason behind the government’s new action is “the worst drug epidemic” in American history, driven by overdose deaths involving heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl and an increase in the availability of methamphetamine. “Transnational criminal organizations are largely responsible for bringing these drugs and related violence to our communities”, said Blinken.
Among the other areas that must be addressed are human trafficking (read: sex trafficking), money laundering, intellectual property theft, wildlife and timber trafficking, toxic waste disposal, illegal fishing and illegal mining.
The continuing expansion of the transnational criminal organizations threatens U.S. national security “by degrading the security and stability of allied and partner nations,” in the words of the President’s Executive Order. These organizations undermine the rule of law, foster corruption, act as proxies for hostile state activities, deplete natural resources, harm human health and the environment, and directly or indirectly fund insurgent terrorist groups. Through corruption, threats and violence, their activities also contribute to climate change. And some, wielding the capabilities of a state, disregard national borders, compromise the integrity of democratic institutions and threaten the legitimacy of the more fragile governments.
To deal with this (again, according to President Biden), the U.S. must act in close coordination with foreign partners, with international and regional organizations and with international and local civil society organizations.
So how is this to be done? The White House has ordered its own and similar foreign intelligence services to “target, disrupt, and degrade” the trans crime organizers, and to improve information sharing (obviously something of a complex nature). A powerhouse group of U.S. authorities, under a chairman elected to a two-year term, is to coordinate strategic plans.
U.S. sources believe that developing countries with weak rule of law can be susceptible to penetration by such criminal organizations, since corrupt officials may turn a blind eye to their activities which include setting up “shadow economies” that infiltrate financial sectors and politics.
What is clear is that the wealthiest nations tend to be the foremost markets for these illicit global criminals, but the struggle to defeat them dates back in time. Early in the last century efforts on this order were already made but failed, especially after the outbreak of World War I. But through efforts to combat this, after WWII Interpol was created with headquarters in Paris. Under President Richard Nixon the U.S. launched a “War on Drugs,” which called for early international coordination but with few results; in the end the drug traffic actually increased. And in 2010 the United Nations passed an executive order complaining of the “lack of information on transnational criminal markets and trends.” Few studies analyzed the global perspective, said that UN report.
Since then the situation has grown even more serious. With the arrival of electronic surveillance and other sophisticated resources, the future may appear more promising.
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