Royal Canadian Mounted Police Training on Cartels

     On November 4th and 5th, I was honored to serve as moderator, presenter, curriculum developer, and project manager for a two day seminar sponsored by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police(RCMP) for local, provincial and federal law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and private stakeholders in the Canadian Banking system entitled "Understanding Mexican and Venezuelan Cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations And Their Impact On Canadian National Security."  For this training, I had the honor of working with Paul Goldenberg and Mark Genatempo of the Global Consortium of Law Enforcement Training Executives (GCLETE), a non-profit organization comprising current and former law enforcement training executives at the State, Federal, and International levels.

    This training consisted of three keynote addresses and seven panel discussions on numerous issues related to both Mexican and Venezuelan Cartels in Canada.  Topics included an Overview of Mexican and Venezuelan Cartels;  Intelligence Programs in Correctional Facilities; The Impacts of Border Crime on Provincial, Indigenous, and Local Police; Cartels and Human Trafficking/Smuggling; Canadian Anti-Money Laundering Laws and Investigations; Technology Tools and Intelligence Sharing; Fusion Centers and Inter-Agency Cooperation; Cartel Operations and Recruitment Strategies; and Cartels and Corruption.

We had an all-star panel of experts from the public and private sectors from both the United States and Canada to provide their expertise.  SME's included current and retired representatives of the National Sheriff's Association (NSA), RCMP, GCLETE, Government of Canada, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Harris County Sheriff's Office, Office of the Regional Operations & Intelligence Center of New Jersey (ROIC), Tarrant County Sheriff's Office, Cochise County Sheriff's Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, Anti-Predator Project, Niagra Parks Police Service, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Resilient Minds On The Front Lines, Special Operations Division, Narravance, New York City Police Department, Ontario Provincial Police, Pellegrino & Czepiel Consulting, the New Jersey State Police, HSI Special Operations Division, PenLink, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and draganfly.

     Keynote speakers and panelists included Former Acting DEA Administrator Derek Maltz Sr., Lt. Kathy Buccini, Canyon County Sheriff & President of NSA Kieran Donahue, Dr. David Grantham, DEA SAC (ret.) & Tarrant County Senior Chief Calvin Bond, President of GCLETE Paul Goldenberg, Captain Tim Williams, Trent Steele, Inspector Lepa Jankovic, Special Agent in Charge TBI Dan Friel, Counsel & Team Leader Public Prosecution Service of Ontario Region Michael McEachren, Former Commander of Intelligence & Penlink Founder John O'Hare, Navarrance Director of Intelligence Alex Goldenberg, Retired Two Star NYPD Assistant Chief of Intelligence John Hart, Retired NJSP LTC Joseph Brennan, and OPP Chief SuperintendentPatrick Morris.  We were also joined by several SMEs, special agents, and analysts (who I will not name in this post due to the sensitive nature of their work) from DHS, HSI, and TDPS.

    It was an amazing seminar that provided important information to our Canadian Law Enforcement Partners on the Cartels, providing a baseline level of training that more advanced training can build upon.    I thank Paul Goldenberg and Mark Genatempo for entrusting me with the project management role.  I thank RCMP Deputy Commissioner Matt Peggs for his leadership in ensuring that this training is provided in Canada for law enforcement situational awareness, and for their hospitality in hosting the event.  I thank my RMOTFL and P&CC colleague, Ines Jourdan, for creating portions of the money laundering training decks and several panel training decks.   I thank HSI Attache to Canada, Magadelia Sigur, John O'Hare, Mark Genatempo, Derek Maltz, and the executive team at the National Sheriffs' Association for helping us procure all the SME's under very fluid conditions with the federal shutdown.   Finally, I thank our RCMP/GRC contact Philip Staniewski and his staff for helping coordinate the arrangements for our facilitators and procuring Canadian SME's for the seminar.

    It was truly an honor and a privilege to be involved in this cross-border training with our Canadian colleagues.  It is my hope that this training will serve as the first of many, bringing together law enforcement experts in Canada and the United States to work together to face this ever-growing threat on both sides of the border.