Overview
- The five countries signed the Compromiso Regional de Santiago on Thursday, May 28, 2026, creating a political commitment to coordinate regional responses to transnational organized crime.
- The declaration establishes a rotating Grupo de Trabajo charged with producing a Joint Action Plan, requires a first technical meeting within 90 days, and mandates a ministerial review of progress in 180 days in Argentina.
- Signatories set five priority areas for measurable action: intelligence and information exchange among services, border coordination and control, traceability of illicit financial flows, technical cooperation between national bodies, and stronger regional response mechanisms.
- Chile’s foreign minister said the pact will be presented to the OAS to invite more countries to join, and officials framed the effort within the U.S.-backed Escudo de las Américas initiative.
- The pact is programmatic rather than operational today, with no published joint operations; its impact will depend on the working group’s technical decisions, national capacities and political conditions in countries facing high violence and criminal group activity.