The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Wednesday announced an historic expansion of financing for security in Latin America and the Caribbean from its previous target of US$2.5 billion to $4 billion.
The IIDB’s announcement made at the ongoing Regional Security and Justice Summit here, reinforces the bank’s commitment to strengthen citizen security, justice, and institutions in the region.
This year, the IDB’s operational pipeline for security reached US$1.42 billion, almost 60 per cent of the three-year (2026-2028) financing target announced during last year’s summit in Argentina.
The IDB said that this progress has exceeded expectations and reflects a growing demand from member countries seeking comprehensive responses to increasingly sophisticated security challenges. The expanded pipeline builds on the success of the Alliance for Security, Justice and Development, launched in 2024 in Ecuador.
‘Last year, we made the commitment to move the Alliance toward a new stage, with a large-scale investment in the region. Now, we are doubling down on our success to bring more security and more sustainable development to the people in the region. We also emphasized a faster and more effective response,’ said IDB Group President Ilan Goldfajn.
‘Organized crime brings violence and threatens the well-being of communities. But it also has profound development consequences: it discourages investment, weakens institutions, and ultimately, limits growth and job creation. Security is no longer only a matter of law enforcement. It has become one of the essential conditions for development,’ Goldfajn added.
The pipeline of the Alliance concentrates on three pillars: preventing violence and protecting vulnerable populations; strengthening security and justice institutions; and combating illicit markets and criminal financial networks.
The IDB said that together, these pillars are helping countries move towards a more coordinated, evidence-based approach to addressing organized crime.
The portfolio prioritizes violence prevention, police modernization, public security, interoperability and digital transformation, justice systems, correctional systems, institutional strengthening, and responses to organized crime.
In addition to its expanding scale, the Alliance has promoted more agile procedures. Its Rapid Response Task Force, launched at last year’s summit, has already supported Peru, Jamaica, Guatemala, and Brazil by providing specialized technical assistance to address urgent security and justice challenges.
To strengthen the Rapid Response Task Force, the IDB and INTERPOL, the world’s largest international police network, are developing a historic collaboration across Latin America and the Caribbean.
The summit here also marks the transition of the Alliance’s pro tempore presidency from Argentina to Brazil, which will lead the next phase of regional cooperation.
Under Brazil’s leadership, the Alliance will continue promoting a common regional agenda focused on prevention, enforcement, justice, and institutional strengthening, while mobilizing the financial and technical resources needed to address organized crime and its impact on development across Latin America and the Caribbean.