International Cooperation in LatAm

Document fraud is one of the tools used by international terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering, human trafficking and other forms of transnational crime. This is the reason why there must be cooperation between migratory authorities, international public policies organizations and frontiers’ agencies that leads to the exchange of information on migratory flows and trends in travel documents, to avoid the circulation of false or forged documents.

The EUROFRONT Program

Between 9-13 May in Puerto Iguazú, Argentina, a tri-national meeting was held within the framework of the EUROFRONT Programme on training and technical assistance on ‘Detection of false documents and irregular immigration in the Tri-border area’.

EUROFRONT Programme

The programme is funded by the European Union. It is based on the European model of Integrated Border Management and includes seven Latin American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Perú, through four borders: Tri-border area (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay), Rumichaca Border (Colombia-Ecuador), Aguas Blancas (Argentina-Bolivia) and Desaguadero (Bolivia-Perú).

As a basis for implementation, four technical assistance pillars were determined, with objectives such as the analysis of the regulatory framework and border practices, emphasising respect for human rights. In another of the pillars, the instruments of the fight against corruption, ethics and risk analysis were addressed.

Geographical considerations 

Puerto Iguazú, Foz de Iguazú and Ciudad del Este are cities located very close to each other and are linked by different bridges – Puerto Iguazú and Foz de Iguazú (Tancredo Neves Bridge), Ciudad del Este and Foz de Iguazú (Friendship Bridge). The three cities are bordered by the Iguazu and Paraná rivers, which generate a constant flow of vehicles and people carrying identity documents, travel documents as well as driving licences. This situation means that the officials responsible for the border control have to be frequently updated in relation to all documentary inspections.

Between January and April of this year in Puerto Iguazu (Tancredo Neves Bridge), the total number of entries of vehicle transits, such as cargo, passenger, and private car transport, was around 374,000 and departures at 358,000; while cross-border movement of people registered a total of 2,164,000.

Expert presentations

In the meetings in Puerto Iguazú, experiences of verifying security elements, detection and documentary analysis of passports and identity documents of each of the countries involved, were exchanged. One of the cases investigated was that of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay that share the Tri Border area, recognised as one of the most sensitive areas due to the intense migratory movement that travels daily.

The presentations from Spain were given by the Chief Inspector of the Document Fraud Technical Section of the General Commissioner for Immigration and Borders of the Ministerio del Interior, Juan Pablo Valiente Plaza, and the expert Victor Suarez Lopez from the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP-ES).

Representing the Policia Federal Brasil (Ministerio de Justicia y Seguridad) was the Forensic Expert Mg Narumi Pereira Lima; for Paraguay, the head of the División Criminalística – Ciudad del Este, Commissioner Mg Walter Daniel Sanchez; and the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones Argentina was represented by Forensic Document Expert Mónica Peralta, Specialist in Scientific Investigation of Crime, Chief of the Document Analysis Department, (and author of this article).

Among the organisations associated with the Program, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Italo-Latin American Organization (IILA) accompanied the active training sessions. In addition, the programme had the support of FRONTEX and other European entities that specialise in border management.

The training ended with an on-site tour of the border crossing, confirming the relevant daily task that Argentinian immigration officials carry out in the continual movement of people.