The Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT) published the outcomes of its 52nd Plenary Meeting, held in Antigua Guatemala on 5 December 2025, setting the policy and institutional framework for the start of the Fifth Round of Mutual Evaluations. Decisions covered updates to key standards and evaluation arrangements, the close-out of the 2020–2025 Strategic Plan, and adoption of a new Strategic Plan for 2026–2030. By consensus, the Plenary approved modifications to Recommendation 7, its Interpretive Note and the Evaluation Methodology on proliferation financing, as well as Evaluation Methodology changes following revisions to Recommendation 16, including transitional provisions through 2030. It also updated GAFILAT’s Fifth Round mutual evaluation procedures to reflect adjustments from the Financial Action Task Force’s early review and to address unintended consequences linked to Recommendation 8. The meeting endorsed documents to be published in GAFILAT’s library, including a paper on strategic analysis in financial intelligence units, a regional cybersecurity diagnosis for financial intelligence units, and the 2025 GAFILAT money laundering typologies report. Two special sessions focused on asset recovery (with the Inter-American Development Bank) and on strengthening regional AML/CFT and proliferation financing policies with the Financial Action Task Force and partner bodies, alongside an oral briefing on the main results of the Financial Action Task Force’s October 2025 Plenary. Next steps include publication of the approved documents in GAFILAT’s library, implementation planning via the 2026–2027 Action Plan, and leadership changes with Panama elected as presidency and Colombia as vice-presidency for 2026. The briefing also noted that the next Financial Action Task Force Plenary is scheduled for February 2026 under Mexico’s presidency.

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