Brazil minister discusses border security in Colombia

Brazilian Public Security Minister Raul Jungmann set off for Colombia today (Aug. 20) where he is expected to discuss strategies for bolstering security between the two countries and to become familiar with projects for fighting poverty and drug trafficking in urban areas in Medellín and Bogotá.

Jungmann hopes that the security model adopted in the two cities may serve to inspire Brazilian authorities to devise their own actions on public security. Engagements have been scheduled until Thursday (23), including meetings with Colombia’s Foreign Minister Carlos Trujillo, former President Cesar Gaviria—known as the president who managed to bring Pablo Escobar’s criminal organizartion to an end—Medellín Mayor Federico Andrés, and Security Secretary André Felipe Tobón.

The minister will become familiar with the experience of social organizations in the Comunas 1 and 2 of Medellín—the districts with the highest homicide rates in the city—as well as pacification initiatives in the neighborhood of Moravia. The place had once a major garbage dump, which was transformed as part of an integrated urban and social project initiated in 2004.

During his stay in Colombia, Jungmann will talk about the concerns of the Brazilian government over the increase in the amount of illicit drugs grown in Colombia, especially in areas near Brazil. The presentation will be held at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Bogotá.