Defence Minister Luis Petri announced Monday at a press conference that members of Argentina’s Armed Forces would be arriving in Rosario within the next 24 hours “to make life very difficult for those committing crimes against decent citizens.”
Petri was accompanied at the press briefing by Security minister Patricia Bullrich, Santa Fe Province Governor Maximiliano Pullaro and Rosario Mayor Pablo Javkin.
The minister highlighted that “when peace is in danger, aid is necessary” and said that members of the military would be sent to Rosario under the terms of the Domestic Security Law to “crack down on those committing the crimes”.
More than 450 officers from the federal security forces are expected to join security operations in Rosario, which has been plagued by drug violence for years.
Bullrich stated that various measures being taken in prisons allowed for “the concrete contraction of the criminal business handled by gangs in Rosario.”
“Given the controls and work from prisons, they wanted to push us out of the way and started with narco-terrorist actions by attacking citizens who are doing their jobs,” she explained.
Bullrich revealed a series of new measures: “We will ask the Courts to enforcé the Anti-Terrorist Law and we will introduce the Anti-Mafia or Anti-Gang Law against organised crime to Congress so that every member has the same penalty.”
Moreover, federal officers will be sent to “cause saturation in high-risk work areas from 5pm to 7am.” There will be special investigative teams for that who will help “put together the family tree of gangs attacking Rosario.”
“We also want to transfer high-risk inmates to other federal prisons,” she revealed.
“The President has asked us to carry out a merciless battle so that Rosario is freed from narco criminals. We ask the people and the press to stand with us and not give out confidential information to gangs,” she said, alleging that drug cartels are “already expanding to Entre Ríos and Buenos Aires Province.”
“They won’t twist our arms, we’re not backing down, we won’t let Rosario become narco-terrorist territory, we’ll fight every day to protect lives with all our might”, she concluded.
Governor Pullaro also spoke at the press conference and expressed his grief over the recent string crimes: “Our solidarity and hearts go out to the relatives of these people from Rosario who were working to put food on their families’ tables who lost their lives in these cowardly attacks.”
“We took everything from them and they didn't react, so now that their business is smaller they have committed these cowardly acts. They’re desperate about losing control,” he claimed.
Pablo Javkin said: “These actions against narcoterrorism do not allow any retreat, the policy is firm with a view to recovering peace and win against terror”.
– TIMES/NA
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