Foreign Affairs Minister Mario Lopez and
United States Embassy Chargé d'Affaires Denison Offutt on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation to establish a Specialized Investigation Unit to Combat Wildlife Trafficking.
The signing took place within the framework of the Peruvian State's efforts to consolidate its leadership in this field after it organized —in October last year—the First High-level Conference of the Americas on Illegal Wildlife Trade, which is the fourth most lucrative organized crime in the world.
The agreement is intended to strengthen the capacities of entities with investigating and reporting skills in the fight against this scourge, particularly in favor of the Peruvian National Police and the Prosecutors' Offices Specializing in Environmental Affairs (FEMA), considering that more than 320 species are at risk in the South American country.
This cooperation joins the efforts of the United States in favor of small-scale gold mining, as well as the fight against illegal mining and its related crimes through the Action Plan for the Cooperation Agreement on this matter agreed last December.
(END) NDP/RMCH/RMB
Published: 10/8/2020