On 15 November 2021, the Secretary General of the WCO, Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, and the Superintendent of the Guatemalan Superintendence of Tax Administration (SAT), Mr. Marco Livio Díaz, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing the RILO for Central America, consisting of Guatemala (as host country), Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.
The virtual ceremony between the WCO and Guatemala’s Customs Administration was attended by Guatemala’s Ambassador to Belgium, Mr. José Gabriel Lambour Peñalonzo, who had come to the WCO Secretariat premises especially for the occasion.
The WCO’s Secretary General said that establishing the RILO for Central America strengthened the intelligence community in the Americas and Caribbean region, adding to the two RILOs already established in the region, namely the RILO for South America in Chile and the RILO for the Caribbean in Bermuda.
The RILO for Central America also reinforces the global network of WCO RILOs, which now numbers 12 offices that play a key role in exchanging information and intelligence to combat trafficking in all its forms at national, regional and international level.
The RILOs support the WCO Secretariat and Members in enforcement actions, using the secure CENcomm3 communication platform to facilitate information exchange aimed at a practical application of risk management to identify and facilitate legitimate trade while curbing illegal trafficking that is harmful to the health, safety and security of our society.
For easier communication between the member countries of the RILO for Central America and increased participation by all Spanish-speaking countries in enforcement actions, the Secretary General announced that the new version of CENcomm would be available in Spanish, thanks to funding from the Government of Japan.
Finally, the Vice-Chairperson of the Global RILO Meeting, who participated in the signing ceremony, welcomed the RILO for Central America by inviting it to take part in the 29th Meeting to be held on 18 and 19 January 2022.