The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization as a Tool for Combating Transnational Organized Crime from an Environmental Perspective

Abstract

This article analyzes transnational illicit activities in the Amazon, a space where diverse criminal networks thrive. As a research proposal, it is verified, through descriptive (how) and causal (why) inferences, to what extent the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) can become an effective tool to combat them, replacing the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), which before the suspension of its activities was the appropriate forum for this purpose. To achieve this, research is developed based on the understanding of Richard Haass (2017), who argues that we live in an integrated and interdependent world or, in other words, in a World Order 2.0. In this context, overlapping threats from outside and inside a region or country require coordinated responses to protect the interests of those who, to some extent, are affected by the resulting externalities, as is the case of the Amazon region.