Thomas Kelly and Representative Kay Granger Meet With Minister Julio Alak

September 1, 2009

Thomas Kelly and Representative Kay Granger with Minister Alak

Chargé d’Affaires Thomas Kelly and Representative Kay Granger of Congressional District Number 12 of Texas met with Minister of Justice, Security and Human Rights Julio Alak at the Ministry of Justice, Security and Human Rights on September 1.

“We are very pleased to present before Representative Granger the important efforts of the Government of Argentina against transnational crime, terrorism and trafficking in persons. We agreed on the importance of our permanent cooperation in the fight against drug-trafficking; including the coordination of the security forces of both countries.” – said Chargé d’Affaires Thomas Kelly.

During the meeting, Representative Granger described the strong bipartisan support in the U.S. to continue with the efforts against drug-trafficking, terrorism and trafficking in persons. Representative Granger thanked Minister Alak for  the attention given by Argentina to the threats of drug-trafficking and expressed hopes that bilateral collaboration in this area continues to grow. Minister Alak talked about ongoing successes, including recent seizures of large amounts of illegal ephedrine and expressed satisfaction at the disposition to support training and other assistance offered by the Unites States government.

As Minister Alak and Rep. Granger had both served as mayor of cities of similar size (La Plata and Fort Worth), they discussed their common experiences in pursuing community-base approaches to fighting crime and enhancing security.