From 24–26 June 2025, the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies, in partnership with United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM), held a focused workshop with 28 participants in Casablanca, Morocco. The 28 senior government and civilian security experts came from 13 countries across the globe, including countries from Latin America (William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies (WJPC) Tier 1 Alumni), Africa, the U.S., and the group was also joined by Mr. Patrick Phillips, a Program Analyst from the Law Enforcement at Sea Branch, Counter-Narcotics & Transnational Threats Division at USAFRICOM.

Under the leadership of Course Director Professor Anne Moisan and Deputy Course Director Fahad Malaikah, the Transnational Threats and Growing International Illicit Crime Workshop represented a 9-year collaboration across the Atlantic between Latin American WJPC senior security Alumni and Africans. This year, the group continued to study shared threats and initiatives with sessions on the Evolving Landscape of Transnational Threats and International Crime; Cyber and Emerging Technology in Information Warfare; State Complicity: Old and Yet New Again; Weaponizing Migration and Trafficking; The New Drug Landscape: Cocaine, Fentanyl and Captagon; Cybercrime and Cyberwarfare; and Generalized Lessons Learned: Terrorism and Criminal Convergence. In addition, two sessions in smaller breakout groups had the participants deep dive into Crime, Trafficking, and Terrorism to advance policy recommendations. The second breakout group session was aimed at developing specific collaborative actions countries could and should take to achieve desired outcomes independent of the U.S. or outside assistance.

The workshop concluded with a tabletop exercise, building on the presentations and breakout group sessions, but looking into the future as each participant addressed “The Transnational Nature of New Crimes: What Keeps Me Up at Night?”

In a world where criminal networks transcend borders, transnational threats are more sophisticated and interconnected than ever before. From Africa to Latin America, to the shores of the U.S., we are witnessing the rapid evolution of illicit economies, cybercrime, human trafficking, arms smuggling, and terrorism, all fueled by instability and weak enforcement mechanisms. Transnational threats are evolving rapidly, and no single nation can combat them alone. By deepening transatlantic cooperation, we can build a unified front against organized crime, cyber threats, and illicit financial networks, ensuring a safer and more stable global environment. All agreed that the convergence and globalization of drug trafficking, human smuggling, cybercrime, terrorism, and financial fraud has created an international criminal/terrorist ecosystem, one that thrives on instability, weak governance, and porous borders (air, land, and sea) enabled by the speed and easy access of technological advancements.

In Africa, illicit economies are increasingly intertwined with terrorist financing, arms smuggling, migration exploitation, and state complicity. Criminal organizations leverage regional conflicts and porous borders to expand their operations, often working alongside extremist groups to fund activities that destabilize entire nations. Meanwhile, in Latin America, we see the evolution of drug cartels into diversified criminal enterprises, engaging in illegal mining, cyber fraud, and transnational money laundering. The emergence of new alliances between Latin American cartels and extra-regional actors, including European, African, and Middle Eastern crime syndicates, has transformed the illicit economy into a multi-continent operation.

This intersection of criminal networks poses a direct challenge to national sovereignty, economic stability, and democratic governance of not only Latin American and African countries, but equally to the U.S. heartland. Corruption inside governments, weak enforcement mechanisms, ungoverned spaces, and the ability of criminal groups to exploit digital platforms and financing have made it increasingly difficult for governments to combat these threats effectively. While there was no lack of understanding of the problems and providing innovative ideas on solutions, all agreed that political will by leaders, too often themselves corrupt, enable criminal and terrorist elements to thrive. For too long, nations have tackled these challenges in isolation, but the reality is clear: No single country can dismantle these organizations alone. Transatlantic cooperation between the United States, Europe, and regional allies in Latin America and Africa is no longer optional; it is imperative for security, stability, and economic resilience. Transnational threats are growing, but so too must the collective response. By deepening transatlantic cooperation, sharing lessons learned, investing in innovative security solutions, and fostering collaborative enforcement strategies, nations can build a united front against organized crime and illicit networks. All opined that any progress would require concerted efforts by the U.S., EU and international pressure for change.

The groups, however, saw the tremendous value for both Africans and Latin Americans to leverage common interests and threats to drive deeper cooperation between their two continents and transcend the Atlantic Ocean physically separating them. They attempted to focus on innovative solutions, collaborative strategies, and proactive enforcement mechanisms that could disrupt these criminal and terrorist enterprises and safeguard nations from growing/spreading influence throughout Africa and Latin America which ultimately also threatens the U.S. itself. What was evident is that this is not a fight that either region can tackle alone. Regional cooperation, intelligence-sharing, and adaptive policy frameworks were deemed essential to countering these evolving threats. Strengthening public-private partnerships, investing in cybersecurity defenses, and enhancing law enforcement coordination will also be critical in dismantling these networks before they further entrench themselves in societies. Ultimately, this is a fight countries cannot afford to lose and one even the U.S. cannot fight alone.

During the open discussions, breakout group exercises, and in sidebars, participants were forthcoming in identifying areas that would provide better control over criminal and terrorist elements and bolster cooperative/collaborative efforts.

^{USAFRICOM Mr. Patrick Phillips, a Program Analyst from the Law Enforcement at Sea Branch, Counter-Narcotics & Transnational Threats Division, served as the keynote speaker. The session was moderated by Professor Anne Moisan.}

Professor Anne Moisan and Mr. Fahad Malaikah moderated the speaker/panel sessions. Mr. Patrick Phillips, a Program Analyst from the Law Enforcement at Sea Branch, Counter-Narcotics & Transnational Threats Division at USAFRICOM, was an ideal fit for the workshop, kicking off the program and for presenting AFRICOM’s view of the Evolving Landscape of Transnational Threats and International Crime on the continent. As valuable as the presentations were, the built-in 24/7 opportunities between sessions and over meals for open discussions, extensive and structured networking, and a variety of side-bar meetings with the NESA Center provided opportunities to deep-dive into topics and exchange lessons learned/best practices with experts from both sides of the Atlantic. In addition, the workshop’s key role, as in past years, is to establish strong networking connections between Latin Americans and Africans that go beyond the workshop itself and encourage continued transatlantic collaboration and cooperation between countries/participants attending.

All participants’ feedback was exceptionally positive in terms of context, topics, speakers, case studies, the wide range of security expertise, the more focused breakout groups, as well as the personalized support. The informal/relaxed format also provided ample opportunities for networking and side-bar meetings. The government officials attending were especially impressed with the approach, providing many, for the first time, perspectives and ideas outside of their traditional government/ministry stovepipes.

The views presented in this article are those of the speaker or author and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or its components.