Fighting Cultural Racketeering Through UNCAC: Lessons from Mexico’s Ambassador
December 19, 2023
Earlier this year, the San Bernardino County Museum (SBCM) announced the return of 1,294 archaeological objects to Mexico.
Presented as evidence of the widespread looting and trafficking of Mexico’s cultural heritage, Ambassador Javier Díaz de León of the Mexican Foreign Service unpacked this repatriation and others at an Antiquities Coalition side event during the 10th session of the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP10) to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).
Ambassador Díaz de León also warned that America’s market for Mexico’s art and antiquities is fueling organized crime. He shared,
“The trafficking of cultural goods has been identified as a way for criminal cells to facilitate money laundering by laundering cultural objects, thus becoming a source of financing for terrorist groups.”
In Mexico, cultural racketeering is embedded in organized criminal networks—known to use intimidation and money to influence the rule of law. As is true globally, this problem cannot be fixed by better archaeology, but by strengthened legal frameworks and law enforcement.
Furthermore, these are transnational crimes and require regional or international solutions. Ambassador Díaz de León’s experiences suggest that UNCAC is more than relevant to crimes involving art and antiquities—it is an essential tool.
The Antiquities Coalition again thanks the Italian Republic, the United Mexican States, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for supporting this constructive dialogue as part of the special events program “Cultural Racketeering & Corruption—Recommendations for UNCAC”.
Read more about adding cultural racketeering to the campaign against corruption, here.
Learn about the San Bernardino County Museum repatriation, here.