Meeting with security partners and expanding our network of trusted and reliable expertise is critical to the intelligence and on the ground assistance, we deliver. Events such as the OSAC Latin America Regional Council (LARC) meeting in Miami, Florida are opportunities to share our insights with regional stakeholders and strengthen relationships with US government partners and private sector entities located throughout the Americas.
RELATIONSHIP BUILDING AND SERVICE TO CLIENTS
The last meeting was extremely timely. Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile were experiencing insecurities and political unrest.
In particular, Ecuador had just begun a heightened period of aggressive social unrest, and our clients needed to ensure the safety of international students by having them transported out of impacted to safer locations outside of heightened risk areas. At OSAC LARC, we met with one of our in-country business partners to determine any enhancements concerning their capabilities in Ecuador over the fiscal year and to discuss the current security outlook and the forecast for the subsequent months. Meeting with these partners enhanced our operational planning and proved pivotal to supporting client inquiries during moments of unrest and crisis.
Unrest in Bolivia and Chile echoed many of the challenges observed in Ecuador. Key roads in both countries were closed, and our clients needed to be evacuated. In conjunction with our providers, we were able to facilitate movements to international airports, which took our clients out of areas of civil unrest and heightened risk environments. Again, at OSAC LARC, we paved the way to gain valuable insights and verified that our extensive network of regional security providers could support us in such sensitive and multifaceted requests. We were able to successfully ensure our commitment to our clients’ well-being: safety from start to finish of the mission.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have aided numerous NGOs, universities, corporations, foundations, and government entities and helped them to return home amidst tense situations. In Peru, travel restrictions were announced and put into place. We responded quickly, obtained necessary government authorisation documents to move throughout the country, and coordinated with government officials to ensure the safety and successful evacuation of clients. Consequently, our clients returned home before the country shut down international travel.
MEETING TAKEAWAYS
The LARC consisted of a full day of presentations, panels, and discussions. We were joined by mostly private sector companies who, like us, have a vested interest in providing meaningful partnerships between both private organisations, and fortifying relations with public entities – in this case, OSAC, and office of the U.S. Department of State.
The sessions covered a breadth of topics, including growing trends in kidnapping modalities, organised crime and implications on the region, conflict resolution strategies in Latin America, and homegrown terrorism issues within the United States.
We are in a unique position to support our clients across the Americas region through our geopolitical and risk management expertise. This ideal has rung true, and our relationship building has made all the difference in delivering better results and taking care of our clients.