This article is the first in a three-part series on multi-jurisdictional cartel investigations.

In a break from traditional enforcement trends, two recent events underscore the importance of antitrust compliance training for companies located or doing business in Mexico and Latin America. First, in November 2008, the European Commission announced that several cement companies, including Cemex, a global building materials company headquartered in Mexico, were under investigation for violating Article 81 of the EC Treaty, which prohibits cartel behavior. In May 2009, Mexico’s Federal Competition Commission joined the probe, wreaking further havoc on Cemex’s precarious financial position. Second, in February 2009, the Brazilian Ministry of Justice, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission, took the lead in an antitrust investigation of compressor makers, including Empresa Brasileria de Compressores S.A.-Embraco and Tecumseh do Brasil Ltda. The scope of the Brazilian inquiry was unprecedented, with nearly 60 federal police agents, Justice ministry officials and state prosecutors working to serve six search warrants in Sao Paolo and Santa Catarina and gather evidence of wrongdoing.