According to a statement issued by the National Republican Guard (GNR), the exercise, carried out between the GNR's Évora Territorial Command and the Badajoz Civil Guard, "aimed to increase and improve international cooperation in the fight against cross-border crime, generating a common security culture, boosting the crucial role in the joint approach and performance in criminal repression".

The exercise, entitled "Hot Pursuit", involved the participation of around 30 members of the GNR and the Civil Guard, who worked on various aspects, from the initial planning of the exercise to its realisation, the statement said.

"The exercise dealt with a scenario involving the robbery of a bank in the municipality of Mourão by Spanish individuals who fled towards Spain, forcing the initial mobilisation of GNR resources to apprehend the suspects in Portuguese territory, moving on to a phase of coordination and operational interconnection with the Civil Guard," the document explained.

According to the press release, the success of this exercise lay in the joint and coordinated action of the GNR and the Civil Guard, similar police forces that share similar responsibilities in terms of policing and criminal repression.

In this way, according to the GNR, the "Hot Pursuit" exercise was planned with the aim of training, perfecting and fostering interoperability between the two police forces, promoting the sharing of knowledge and the consolidation of existing good practices, based on common values of sharing and institutional cooperation between the two institutions.