As communities and countries around the world face a growing threat of transnational crime and illicit synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl, the United States launched a global effort today to convene 72 judicial, law enforcement, and security officials from around the world for a three-week exchange to pursue shared solutions to this shared global challenge. Combatting the fentanyl crisis is a Biden-Harris Administration priority and a part of the U.S. Department of State's Towards a More Safe and Secure World (TMSSW) International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) that focuses on transnational threats to international peace and security, including terrorism, trafficking of persons and narcotics, border insecurity, corruption, cyber warfare, and the impacts from climate change.
The participants, who include representatives from Botswana, Ecuador, Morocco, Norway, and Thailand, are beginning their three-week program in Washington, D.C. with plenary sessions featuring top public and private sector security experts. Program participants will then travel to Tampa, FL for a workshop on multijurisdictional task forces with interagency stakeholders from Florida's regional Fusion Center. Traveling in groups, they will visit Austin, TX; Cleveland, OH; Huntsville, AL; Phoenix and Tucson, AZ; Reno, NV; Sacramento and San Diego, CA; and Salt Lake City, UT to gain an understanding of public safety and security issues from state and local law enforcement officials, public officials, and social service and victim assistance providers. Participants will then reunite in New York City for the annual Combating Transnational Crime Global Cooperation Conference, co-hosted with the Federal Bureau of Investigation New York Field Office.
