The acting director of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Timothy Shea, makes an unprecedented visit in Panama and has met this Monday with senior Security and Justice officials in the country.

It is the first time that a general administrator of the DEA visits Panama, and he does so to acknowledge the work carried out jointly with the authorities of other countries in the fight against organized crime and international drug trafficking, declared the Panamanian attorney general, Eduardo Ulloa.

Shea said that the success and results obtained by Panama have been set as an example for other Latin American countries and taken as a model to replicate it, added the head of the Attorney General's Office of Panama.

The United States Embassy published on its Twitter account that the acting director of the DEA met with the attorney general, Eduardo Ulloa, to discuss law enforcement issues and the role that Panama plays in maintaining the security in the region.

The embassy also indicated that Shea was received by the Minister of Public Security, Juan Pino, and the Vice Minister of that portfolio, Juan Pitti, in a meeting in which the directors of the country's police forces and the head of the US Mission to Panama, Stewart Tuttle also participated.

The close collaboration relationship between the two countries on security matters will be reaffirmed, added the embassy in its message on the social network.

Shea's visit is a preamble to this week's High Level Security Dialogue, which will address issues such as maritime security, border security and anti-money laundering efforts.

Last October, the Counselor of the US State Department, Thomas Ulrich Brechbuhl, announced during a visit to Panama that an anti-money laundering force from both countries was already underway and predicted that it would begin to "bear fruit."

There are several things we are doing to attract more investment from the United States to Panama; we have launched a joint task force to combat money laundering. The efforts that we have put into it will begin to pay off, said Ulrich Brechbuhl.

Panama has also made important drug seizures in recent months and the authorities have recognized that they have been the product of joint work with the United States, Colombia and Costa Rica.

Between January and November, Panamanian security forces have seized around 72 tons of drugs, Drug Prosecutor Javier Caraballo said last week.

Panama seized a total of 90.99 tons of drugs in 2019, the vast majority cocaine, a record for this country, and they arrested 1,013 people linked to drug trafficking, 10% of them foreigners.