Police Apprehend Two South American Fugitives Two Weeks After Joining Ameripol (Police Community of the Americas)

[Financial News] Just about two weeks after joining Ameripol (Police Community of the Americas) as an observer, police have successively apprehended two suspects who fled to Colombia and Venezuela. The police plan to use the membership as an opportunity to expand their international cooperation network in Latin America and strengthen efforts to combat transnational crime.
The Korean National Police Agency said on the 22nd that, after joining Ameripol as an observer on the 28th of last month, it activated cooperation channels, tracked down and apprehended two suspects who had fled to South America.
Ameripol is a regional police cooperation organization for Latin America and the Caribbean. It was launched in 2007 following the First Conference of Chiefs of Police of the Americas held in Bogotá, Colombia. The organization works to combat transnational crimes such as drug offenses and human trafficking while strengthening cooperation among international organizations.
The police had initially aimed to receive approval to join Ameripol at the 2026 Ameripol Regular General Assembly scheduled for November. However, the timeline was moved up after member countries supported South Korea's application at a special Ameripol meeting held on the 28th of last month. The police explained that the government's follow-up measures to its summit diplomacy in Latin America and efforts to strengthen public-security cooperation contributed to the early admission.
The cooperation also led to further apprehensions. One suspect was arrested at an airport in Colombia on the 7th and repatriated to South Korea after voluntarily returning via Madrid. Another suspect was found to have stayed in Venezuela before traveling through Colombia to Madrid and was arrested there on the 9th. Extradition proceedings are currently underway.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Colombia, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Venezuela and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Spain also assisted with the arrests and repatriations. The police later held a video conference with Ameripol and its participating countries to share the results of their cooperation and discuss future measures.
The police are also expanding public-security cooperation with Latin American countries. They signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Brazilian police during the Brazilian president's visit to South Korea in February, and another MOU with the Chilean police during the president's visit to Chile in July. The police assessed that this cooperative atmosphere helped lead to South Korea's early admission to Ameripol and the apprehension of the fugitives.
An official from the Korean National Police Agency said, "Through this membership and the swift apprehensions, we have expanded our international cooperation framework from the International Criminal Police Organization to Latin America. We will continue to strengthen cooperation with other regional organizations, including Europol, Afripol, Gulfpol and ASEANAPOL, to further enhance our capacity to respond to transnational crime."

[email protected] Kim Ye-ji Reporter