IDB raises security financing for Latin America and the Caribbean to $4 billion

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced in Brasilia a historic expansion of its financing for security in Latin America and the Caribbean, raising the target from $2.5 billion to $4 billion. The announcement was made at the Regional Security and Justice Summit in Brazil, according to a press release. The expanded pipeline responds to growing regional demand and builds on the Alliance for Security, Justice, and Development. It reinforces the IDB’s commitment to strengthening citizen security, justice, and institutions across the region. The move signals a deeper engagement with member countries confronting organized crime.

The IDB’s operational pipeline for security has already reached $1.42 billion, nearly 60% of the three-year (2026-2028) financing target announced at last year’s summit in Argentina. The Alliance for Security, Justice, and Development was launched in 2024 in Ecuador. It brings together 23 member countries and 14 strategic partners, with the IDB serving as its technical secretariat. The initiative was designed to strengthen regional cooperation against organized crime. Progress so far has exceeded expectations, according to the IDB.

The project pipeline for citizen security currently spans eight countries, with operations approved or in preparation in Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Uruguay, Guatemala, Peru, and Chile. 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 portfolio prioritizes violence prevention, police modernization, public security, interoperability and digital transformation, justice systems, correctional systems, and institutional strengthening. Its Rapid Response Task Force, launched at last year’s summit, has already supported Peru, Jamaica, Guatemala, and Brazil. To reinforce this task force, the IDB and INTERPOL are developing a collaboration across Latin America and the Caribbean.

“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. He added that organized crime discourages investment, weakens institutions, and 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 stated.

The summit also marked the transition of the Alliance’s pro tempore presidency from Argentina to Brazil, which will lead the next phase of regional cooperation. Three regional initiatives were highlighted: a criminal-records exchange system moving into a pilot phase, asset-recovery cooperation with the Basel Institute on Governance as a new strategic partner, and the Observatory on Transnational Organized Crime in South America, beginning with Chile, Colombia, and Brazil. The IDB and Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation against organized crime. The agreement supports homicide investigations, arms-trafficking enforcement, asset recovery, and prison security. Under Brazil’s leadership, the Alliance will continue promoting a common regional agenda focused on prevention, enforcement, justice, and institutional strengthening.