Políticas cooperativas de segurança e combate ao crime organizado na Tríplice Fronteira

ABSTRACT This article is an analysis of the cooperative security initiatives developed by Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay in the period beginning in 1996, with the establishment of the “Agreement on Security and Ease of Transit of the Tri-border Area,” until 2016. For this purpose, a brief historical background on the transnationalization of organized crime in the region of the tri-border area was made, and in the following section, an analysis of the main policies, agreements and security actions of these countries, considering mainly those aimed at reducing organized crime activities in border regions. From this analysis, it was possible to understand which factors influenced the decision-making of these countries, such as the strong U.S. presence and antiterrorist discourse, the mutual mistrust generated by cases of corruption in police institutions and border control, and social weaknesses still present on the tri-border area. It was also discussed who were the main parastatal actors involved in the process of elaborating the cooperative actions.