WADA President meets with Government and anti-doping leaders in Latin America

This week, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) President, Witold Bańka, and Director of WADA’s Latin America and Caribbean Office, Francisco León, were in Latin America to meet with a number of key anti-doping partners and government officials. 

During the visit, the WADA delegation had the opportunity to meet with the President of Peru, Ms. Dina Boluarte; Mr. Jaime Pizarro, the Chilean Minister of Sports; and Mr. Miguel Angel Ordoñez, Director General of the Panamanian Institute of Sports (PANDEPORTES). 

During the meetings, Mr. Bańka emphasized the importance of continued collaboration between anti-doping stakeholders and that governments must be ready to support their National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs) with the implementation of 2027 World Anti-Doping Code that is currently undergoing stakeholder review.  

He said: “I would like to thank our partners in Chile, Peru and Panama for welcoming us this week. We had productive conversations with members of the anti-doping community, sports and government officials about the challenges they face and the opportunities that lie ahead. Time and time again, we have seen that working collaboratively is our best way forward and WADA always stands ready to help countries strengthen their programs and policies. 

“It is well known that the passion for sport runs deep in Latin American culture. It is felt in every part of the region as evidenced by its rich sporting history. The previous two Pan American Games were held in Peru and Chile, and the Games will be back in Peru in 2027.  Panama is also slated to host the 2026 Youth South American Games. WADA is encouraged by the efforts of several Governments and anti-doping organizations in the region to ensure that the anti-doping system is harmonized and robust. It is worth highlighting that all three of Chile, Panama and Peru have established independent National Anti-Doping Organizations in recent years.”  

As part of the discussions, Mr. Bańka and Mr. León also broached important topics that will impact the future of sport in Latin America and internationally. 

Mr. León said: “The next few years will be critical for our clean sport partners in Chile, Panama and Peru. There will be ample opportunities for them to make their mark on clean sport here and around the world. The groundwork is being laid for the potential establishment of an accredited WADA laboratory in Chile, largely in anticipation of a bid to host the 2036 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. Our conversations also turned to hosting future WADA events, such as Intelligence & Investigations (I&I) workshops as part of the expansion of WADA I&I’s Global Anti-Doping Intelligence & Investigations Network to the Americas, and the first of four regional symposiums in 2026 in the Americas region.  

“In 2025, there will be multiple opportunities to proactively share their experiences amongst their counterparts – at the Sport Council of the Americas (CADE) meeting in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in April; the World Conference on Doping in Sport in Busan, Republic of Korea, in December; and during the aforementioned regional symposium in 2026. In the years to come, stakeholders will have many opportunities to explore anti-doping issues and opportunities in the Latin American and Caribbean context.” 

Following their discussion with Minister Pizarro on Monday, in Santiago, the capital of Chile, Mr. Bańka and the WADA delegation had the opportunity to meet with Ms. Loreto Santa Cruz, CEO of the Chilean Olympic Committee and Mr. Sebastián Villavicencio, President of the Chilean Paralympic Committee, and attended the inauguration ceremony of the new National Doping Control Commission Corporation of Chile. 

Along with visiting President Boluarte in the Peruvian capital, Lima, the WADA delegation also met a number of high-performance athletes, as well as: 

• Mr. Federico Tong Hurtado, President of the Peruvian Institute of Sport (IPD); 
• Mr. Morgan Quero, Peruvian Minister of Education; 
• Mr. Giacomo Lavaggi Jacobs, Peruvian NADO president; 
• Mr. Renzo Manyari, President of the Peruvian Olympic Committee; and 
• Ms. Luisa Villar, President of the Peruvian Paralympic Committee. 

During their stay in Panama City, the WADA delegation met with Dr. Miguel Ordóñez, Director General of PANDEPORTES; Mr. Carlos Alvarado, Secretary General of the General Assembly; and Ms. Damaris Young, President of the Panama Olympic Committee and International Olympic Committee member. They also visited with boxer Roberto Gaspar Vásquez, a 2005 World Champion, who accompanied the delegation on a tour of the ‘Tierra de Campeones Atheyna Bylon’, the national boxing training facility. 

At the end of their stay in Panama, the delegation held a meeting with members of the WADA NADO Expert Advisory Group representing the Americas region and witnessed the signing of a partnership agreement between the NADO of Ecuador and the Pan American Regional Anti-Doping Organization. The dialogue focused on strengthening regional cooperation in Latin America while examining the challenges and opportunities for NADOs in the region. The meeting convened: 

• Dr. Diego Grippo, Director of the National Anti-Doping Commission of Argentina and member of the WADA NADO Expert Advisory Group (EAG); 
• Dr. Saúl Saucedo, President of the National Anti-Doping Organization of Panama, the Pan American Regional Anti-Doping Organization, and member of the EAG; and 
• Dr. Juan Carlos Checa, Director of the National Anti-Doping Unit of Ecuador.  

Since the start of his presidency in 2020, Mr. Bańka has met with hundreds of athletes, NADOs, members of the Sport Movement, as well as numerous sports ministers and other Government representatives responsible for anti-doping. These meetings have included Governments across all regions of the world, with several more scheduled for 2025.