Less than a week after approving a border security plan with Colombia, Brazil signaled that it would like to extend the security initiative to another partner in the region, Peru.
Brazil shares about 1,644 kilometers of border with Colombia and 2,955 kilometers with Peru. Most of the territory is dense Amazon jungle that provides a shelter for traffickers smuggling drugs, weapons, flora or fauna.
Earlier this year Brazil and Colombia fleshed out an agreement aimed at increasing intelligence sharing in the fight against organized crime, illegal mining, and illicit cultivations along the border. Armed groups are also present here: Colombia's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC) have reportedly kept encampments in Brazilian territory.
This security initiative, according to Brazilian authorities, is a model for other countries of the region, most notably Peru. Brazil further noted that Peru would be the next country they wished to incorporate into the agreement. This is in light of recent reports that Peruvian drug traffickers threatened a little-known indigenous tribe in the Brazilian Amazon.
Colombia in particular has pushed for joint border security agreements with its neighbors, in recognition that remote jungle areas have long provided refuge for the FARC. The country signed one such pact with Panama, aimed at increasing information-sharing, earlier this year.
SUBSCRIBE