CRIME PREVENTION:

REACTION AGAINIST ILLICIT ARMS AND DRUGS TRADE

UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED

CRIME AND THE PROTOCOLS THERETO

Signed in Palermo, Italy, in December 2000,

The purpose of this Convention is to promote cooperation to prevent and combat
transnational organized crime more effectively.

The international community demonstrated the political will to answer a global challenge
with a global response. If crime crosses borders, so must law enforcement. If the rule of
law is undermined not only in one country, but in many, then those who defend it cannot
limit themselves to purely national means.

An offence is transnational in nature if:

(a) It is committed in more than one State;
(b) It is committed in one State but a substantial part of its preparation, planning,
direction or control takes place in another State;
(c) It is committed in one State but involves an organized criminal group that engages in
criminal activities in more than one State; or
(d) It is committed in one State but has substantial effects in another State

The convention addresses the following issues:

a) Terrorism
b) Human trafficking
c) Drug trafficking
d) trafficking and manufacturing of illegal firearms
e) money laundering

The agreement and the three supplementary protocols entered into force after 40
instruments of ratification were deposited.

UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime

The purpose of the Convention is to intensify international police and judicial

cooperation in combating and prosecuting transnational organized crime. In the
agreement states take on the responsibility to punish a number of offences related
to organized crime. On the one hand this includes serious crimes which carry a
minimum sentence of four years and are committed by structured groups
consisting of three or more members. On the other hand, the Convention also
refers to individual offences such as money laundering and corruption connected to
organized crime, or obstructing criminal justice. Property used to commit a crime,
or which was obtained through the crime, may be seized transnationally by way of
international cooperation. At the core of the agreement are comprehensive
provisions on the mutual extradition of suspects as well as on international legal
assistance in prosecuting the perpetrators of these offences. Further provisions
deal with the protection of victims and witnesses, police cooperation (information
exchange, training, technical assistance), and prevention among other things.

The Convention is supplemented by three protocols, which contain additional

specific provisions for individual areas of transnational crime. The protocols are
independent of each other but integral parts of the Convention and are to be
Interpreted and applied in its light.

Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish Trafficking in Persons, especially

Women and children

The Protocol against Human Trafficking especially of Women and Children refers
to the transfer of people to another country with the purpose of exploitation
against the will or without the consent of the victim. Among other things it
includes the legal obligation to criminalize every kind of participation in trafficking,
provisions on protecting and assisting victims of trafficking, and on the possibility
of granting residence and/or repatriating, as well as provisions on improving border
controls and the integrity and security of identity documents.

Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air

In contrast to the Protocol against Human Trafficking, the Protocol against the
Smuggling of Migrants refers to collaboration on the organized procurement of
illegal entry to a foreign territory for commercial means. The term 'smuggling'
refers to all ways of enabling entry which violate the receiving state's regulations,
regardless of the goal of the planned stay. The States Parties undertake to make
the smuggling of migrants a punishable offence. However, migrants who are the
object of smuggling are not liable to criminal prosecution for entering the country
illegally. Nevertheless, any national provisions regarding their punishment remain
unaffected. Furthermore, the protocol contains the explicit requirement under
international law for a State Party to accept the return of a smuggled migrant who
had the right of permanent residence in its territory.

Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their

Parts and components and ammunition

The third protocol is aimed at making the illegal production of, trafficking in, and
possession of firearms punishable. The most important new element is the
requirement of a permanent, unique marking of the weapon when it is manufactured
as well as when it is imported; the relevant documents are to be kept for a longer
period of time in order to be able to trace each individual weapon across borders.
Altering or removing the marking is a punishable offence. The commercial import
and export of firearms requires a state license, as does working as a broker or
dealer in firearms sales. Further provisions refer to introducing common standards
for deactivating firearms, cooperation and information exchange among the States
Parties, and the granting of technical assistance during the implementation phase.
State weapons sales to other states for defence purposes do not fall under the
protocol.

Conclusion

The four treaties create a highly complex framework for police and judicial
cooperation in a classically core area of state sovereignty, in which few bilateral
and even fewer multilateral binding agreements existed until now. Naturally, due to
their universal claim they remain somewhat limited compared to what is already
possible between the considerably more compatible legal systems of the EU states.
The implementation will be decisive for the success of the Convention and its
protocols. But the message that is already being communicated now is not to be
overlooked because the treaties clearly demonstrate the international community's
political resolve to take up the fight against organized crime worldwide.
CALI CARTEL OF LATIN AMERICA

The Cali Cartel was formed in 1977 by the Rodriguez brothers and Santacruz, all
coming from what is described as a higher social background than most other
traffickers of the time. The recognition of this social background was displayed in
the group's nickname as "Cali's Gentlemen."

The group originally assembled as a ring of kidnappers known as Las Chemas, which
was led by Luis Fernando Tamayo Garcia. Las Chemas were implicated in numerous
kidnappings including that of two Swiss citizens, a diplomat Herman Buff and a
student, Zack Jazz Milis Martin. They reportedly received $700,000 dollars in
ransom, which is believed to have gone on to fund their drug trafficking empire.

The assembled group first involved itself in trafficking marijuana. Due to the
product's low profit rate, and larger amount required to traffic to cover
resources, the fledgling group decided to shift their focus to the more lucrative
drug, cocaine.

In the early 1970s the cartel sent Helmer "Pacho" Herrera to New York City to
establish a distribution center. This action came during a time when the United
States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was not fully pursuing cocaine, and
viewed the drug as less critical than heroin, at one point releasing a report stating
of cocaine "it is not physically addictive ... and does not usually result in serious
consequences, such as crime, hospital emergency room admissions or both."

Organization
The lax attitude of the DEA on cocaine is believed to be what allowed the group to
prosper, but also to develop and organize itself into multiple "cells" that appeared
to operate independently, yet reported to a "celeno" or manager, who reported to
Jorge Alberto Rodriguez, who in turn reported back to Cali. In the mid-1980s
Jorge formed an independent drug cell called The 400, which grew to eventually
oversee all shipments and distributions of narcotics imported into the United
States by the Cali Cartel. The independent cell structures are what set the Cali
Cartel apart from the Medellín Cartel. The Cali Cartel operated as a tight group of
independent criminal organizations, as opposed to the Medellíns' structure of a
central leader, Pablo Escobar.
It was believed each cell would report to a larger group, who would then report to
the leaders of the cartel. The groups as cited by former Cali accountant Guillermo
Pallomari are

 Narco-trafficking: Control over processing labs, shipping methods and

routes.
 Military: Control over security, punishment/discipline and bribery in relation
to military or police officials.

 Political: Responsible for forging governmental links, Congressional members,

federal officials and local authorities.

 Financial: Control over money-laundering, front businesses and legitimate

business ventures.

 Legal: Control over representation for captured traffickers, hiring of

lobbyists and overseas representation.