Federal Minister of the Interior and Community Nancy Faeser is in South America from 25 February until 2 March 2024, with political talks in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. The focus of her tour is on strengthening police cooperation to combat organised crime and drug trafficking. In order to successfully combat illegal drug trafficking from South America to Germany and the rest of Europe, closer cooperation is needed between the countries of origin, transit and destination – on both the political and operational levels. For this reason, Federal Minister Faeser is joined on her tour by Vice-President of the Federal Criminal Police (BKA) Martina Link.

Federal Minister Faeser said: "I am very concerned about the massive volume of cocaine being imported from South America. These drugs destroy people’s lives and generate huge profits for organised crime groups. That is why I advocate for stronger action against trafficking in cocaine and other drugs, as well as greater international coordination. We must prevent these quantities of drugs from arriving at our ports.
That is why I have travelled to South America to speak with our partners in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. We want to establish direct operational cooperation between our police authorities. And we want to help reduce the destruction that drug cartels bring to the countries of origin through violence, corruption and environmental devastation.
Drug gangs create an unfathomable spiral of violence – even in the middle of Europe. In our neighbouring countries Belgium and the Netherlands, drug cartels have already threatened policy-makers, public prosecutors and journalists. I want to prevent a similar escalation of violence in Germany."

The volume of drugs seized has remained at a very high level at the ports of Antwerp (Belgium) and Rotterdam (the Netherlands), Europe’s main gateways for cocaine. In the Belgian city of Antwerp alone, 116 tonnes of cocaine were seized in 2023. Around 59 tonnes were seized in the Netherlands, and about 35 tonnes in Germany.

Along with Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Spain, Germany is part of the Coalition of European countries against serious and organised crime. Federal Minister Faeser will host the next ministerial meeting of this coalition in Hamburg on 7 May 2024; port security and the resilience of logistical hubs will play an important role at the meeting.