College of Liberal Arts Hosts Second Annual Borderlands Security Conference

On October 20, 2026, the College of Liberal Arts hosted the 2nd Annual Borderlands Security Conference in collaboration with Florida International University's Institute for Public Policy. The central theme of the conference was “Confronting Transnational Organized Crime in the Americas.” Panelists from UTEP, Florida International University (FIU), and InSight Crime, along with other experts in national security, shared their experiences and viewpoints on the issue.

A total of three Fireside Panels were held:

· The Cartel as Enterprise: How Criminal Networks Innovate, Adapt, and Diversify

· Following the Business: Criminal Value Chains, Chokepoints, and the Corruption That Sustains Them

· What Works—and Why: Partner-Nation Lessons in Dismantling Criminal Networks

Featured keynote speakers included Randy Pestana, Deputy Director of the Jack D. Gordon Institute of Public Policy at FIU, Brigadier General Maurizio Calabrese, Director of the Joint Interagency Task Force-Counter Cartel at U.S. Northern Command, and Jeremy Slack, Ph.D. Associate Professor and Chair at the UTEP Department of Sociology and Anthropology.

The conference drew more than 100 attendees, including UTEP faculty, staff, and students, as well as guests from Fort Bliss. Funding for the event was provided through FIU’s Southcom (Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity) IDIQ contract, with additional sponsorship from the College of Liberal Arts Office of the Dean. Following the successful event, the participating organizations hope to host the conference again next year, with plans to expand discussions and include additional related topics in borderland security.