The Buenos Aires City government is preparing to assign over 1,000 of its Metropolitan Police officers to the Bajo Flores neighbourhood of Villa 1-11-14, where the Border Guard has been in charge of security until now.
The national government plans to hand over to City Hall the last remaining Capital Federal shantytown under its control at the end of the year, official sources confirmed to the Noticias Argentinas news agency, but everything is ready and in place should this transfer be brought ahead, as has happened with other slum neighbourhoods such as Villas 21-24 and Zavaleta and those in Puerto Madero (scheduled for late 2021 but brought ahead to March of that year).
The City government’s Justice & Security Ministry already has a bill drawn up to allow for the full deployment of its police, should the national government withdraw the Border Guard (Gendarmerie) ahead of this year’s presidential elections.
According to a report by Noticias Argentinas journalist Gastón Marote, a total of 1,008 police officers are set to be deployed, divided between two sectors: 512 on the East Side of the neighbourhood and 496 on the West Side.
Villa 1-11-14 is one of this city’s most complex neighourhoods with drug-trafficking highly advanced among its 40,000 inhabitants. Its borders are the streets Oceanía, Avenida Coronel Bonorino, Avenida Riestra, Presidente Camilo Torres y Tenorio, Barros Pazos, Agustín De Vedia, Avenida General Francisco Fernández de la Cruz, Avenida Perito Moreno and Avenida Varela.
The San Lorenzo de Almagro stadium is located just in front of the shantytown with the police jurisdiction belonging to the 7A precinct. Most of the area’s inhabitants are of Paraguayan origin, followed by Peruvians and Argentines.
According to a draft prepared by the City Justice & Security Ministry, the address of the police detachment for the East Side (whose borders are Riestra, Presidente Camilo Torres y Tenorio, José Barros Pazos, Agustín De Vedia, Francisco Fernández de la Cruz, Perito Moreno and Coronel Bonorino) will be Chilavert 1946.
Apart from this centre, according to the leak, there are set to be eight fixed security posts at Avenida Riestra y Charrúa; Riestra y Presidente Camilo Torres; Ana María Janer y Avenida Perito Moreno; Ana María Janer y Charrúa; Giachino y Polideportivo; José Barros Pazos y Crespo; Avenida Perito Moreno 1741; and Avenida Perito Moreno y Francisco Fernández de la Cruz.
The detachment will work with four groups of 128 policemen each in eight-hour shifts for a total of 512 officers.
Meanwhile the detachment for the West Side (bound by the streets Oceanía, Coronel Bonorino, Perito Moreno and Varela) will have its headquarters at Avenida Varela 1950.
Apart from this central location, this zone will have seven fixed posts: Avenida Bonorino y Calle 6; Oceanía y Calle 2; Avenida Varela y Pasillo; Avenida Riestra y Calle 2; Avenida Riestra y Coronel Esteban Bonorino; Avenida Indarte y Calle 10; and Calle 10 y Coronel Esteban Bonorino. Four groups of 124 policemen each in eight-hour shifts will make for a total of 496 offices.
"This draft could be modified but the idea was to be ready in case the national government decides to bring ahead the transfer of security in this neighbourhood," one of the sources consulted by Noticias Argentinas confirmed.
– TIMES/NA
by Gastón Marote/Noticias Argentinas
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