LatinNews Daily - 24 August 2026

Argentina: From 18–20 August Argentina’s security ministry and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) co-hosted the 40^th edition of the International Drug Enforcement Conference (Idec) in Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires. The theme for this year’s Idec was ‘justice through strength and unity’. In a press conference taking place on the second day of the conference, Argentina’s Public Security Minister Alejandra Monteoliva stated: “For us, this event represents, first and foremost, a vote of confidence in our country for everything we have been doing and… recognition of our efforts in the fight against organised crime and, of course, drug trafficking and drugs”. She added that while Argentina had succeeded in reducing violence and homicides, “it is not enough for us to succeed on our own”, stating that “the secret to success lies in us all working together, as no single country can tackle organisations that operate on a global scale on its own, and that is why we are gathered here”. Terrance Cole, the administrator of the DEA, praised Argentina’s current counternarcotics strategy, describing it as a “a model for the region” and stating that the DEA will “continue investing in resources and technology here”. The Idec was created in 1983 by the DEA as a platform for member nations to plan strategic operations to combat international criminal organisations involved in the trafficking of illegal substances. This year’s conference is projected to have drawn between 400 and 600 law enforcement leaders from over 100 member and observer nations. These included Mexico’s Public Security Minister Omar García Harfuch, who said he had shared the results of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s national security strategy that “has strengthened the capacities of intelligence, investigation and coordination of the Mexican State”. Harfuch thanked Cole “for the collaboration, timely information exchange and invitation to this forum”.