Argentina and United States signed a bilateral memorandum of understanding on Wednesday aimed at jointly combating transnational crimes such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking.

According to Argentine Economy Minister Sergio Massa, the goal is to automatize money tracing in investigations of such crimes.

“Criminals will feel no peace in any corner of Argentina,” Massa said during the signing of the agreement in the Centro Cultural Kirchner, in which United States Ambassador Marc Stanley and Security Minister Aníbal Fernández were present.

“By sharing resources, knowledge, and, most importantly, common goals, we are taking decisive steps to make our nations safer places in which we can thrive,” Stanley said.

Massa pointed out that a pending issue in the Argentine Congress is the passing of the tax amnesty law, which will allow Argentina to investigate capital flight and money laundering. “This will allow us to close the circle so that we can move forward with the prosecution of the money that has fled Argentina, which in many cases is money linked to organized crime,” he said.

Fernández called the agreement “the beginning of something very important”. “Cooperation in security matters with the United States is also beneficial for the country at an operational level, due to the close links we have with different US agencies,” he said.

The security minister also said that the joint efforts and information sharing “are key to expanding our capacity to address the prevention and investigation of transnational organized crime.”

The memorandum creates a joint framework for achieving common objectives, including greater emphasis on the fight against transnational organized crime, enhanced cooperation on maritime security, and strengthening citizen security, the rule of law, and the quality of security institutions.