Intelligence Center for Counter-Terrorism and Organized Crime
The Intelligence Center for Counter-Terrorism and Organized Crime is the Spanishdomestic intelligence agency responsible for the prevention of terrorism, organized crime and other violent radical organizations by managing and analyzing all internal information of the country. It was formed in October 2014.
History
The agency was created on October 15, 2014 by the Royal Decree 873/2014, of 10 October 2014, which modified the Royal Decree 400/2012, of 17 February 2014, by which the basic structure of the Ministry of the Interior was developed. The agency resulted from the merged of two predecessor domestic intelligence agencies, the National Anti-Terrorism Coordination Center and the Intelligence Center against Organized Crime under the Secretariat of State for Security within the Ministry of the Interior. The purpose of the union was to optimize efforts and take advantage of economic resources of both agencies in the face of growing threats and the link between violent extremist, terrorist organizations and organized crime.
Functions
CITCO is responsible for the reception, integration and analysis of the strategic information available in the fight against organized crime, terrorism and violent radicalism, the design of specific strategies against these threats, and, where appropriate, the establishment of criteria for Action and operational coordination of the bodies acting in the cases of coincidence or concurrence in the investigations, and in particular:
To receive, integrate and analyze information and operational analysis related to organized or especially serious crime, terrorism and violent radicalism that are relevant or necessary for the elaboration of strategic and prospective criminal intelligence in relation to these phenomena, both in its national and international projection, integrating and channeling to the State Security Forces and Corps all the operational information that it receives or captures.
To dictate, determine and establish, in the cases of joint or concurrent intervention, the coordination and action criteria of the operative units of the State Security Forces and Corps, and of those with other intervening agencies, according to their competencies support the intervention.
To prepare annual reports on the situation of organized crime, terrorism and violent radicalism in Spain, as well as a periodic assessment of the threat in these fields.
To develop and disseminate statistical information related to these matters and in particular to drug trafficking.
To propose national strategies against organized crime, terrorism and violent radicalism and update them on a permanent basis, coordinating and verifying their development and implementation.
To establish, within the scope of their powers, the corresponding relationships with other centers or similar units of the European Union, their Member States or third countries
The first director of the agency was José Luis Olivera Serrano, acting director from 2014-2015 and director from 2015-2018. He was ceased on July 2018 and the Deputy Director, Francisco Montes López, assumed as Acting Director. That same month, Civil Guard's Brigadier generalÁngel Alonso Miranda was appointed Director.
