The head of the United States' federal drug agency praised Argentina's counter-narcotics strategy on Wednesday, calling it a "model for the region," at a summit of anti-drug delegates from more than 100 countries in Buenos Aires.
"They are doing incredible things against drug traffickers and against terrorists," DEA Administrator Terrance 'Terry' Cole said in a statement.
Cole is co-leading the gathering alongside National Security Minister Alejandra Monteoliva at the 40th International Drug Enforcement Conference (IDEC), which runs from Tuesday to Thursday.
Co-hosted by President Javier Milei's government and the DEA, the IDEC aims to strengthen information-sharing, criminal intelligence and coordination against transnational organised crime.
"It's a model for the region and we support them completely in everything they do," Cole said, speaking of Argentina.
"The DEA and the US government are delighted with this partnership and we're going to keep investing resources here. We're going to keep supporting the operations that their teams carry out every day," the administrator said, quoted in a statement following a press conference.
Monteoliva added that "the presence of transnational criminal organisations shapes criminal dynamics, and South America is home to the countries that currently top the list of global cocaine production."
Also attending the conference alongside Cole and Monteoliva was US Ambassador to Argentina Peter Lamelas. In a post on X, the ambassador said the United States "works side by side with Argentina and democratic countries against cartels, criminal networks and terrorists."
"No country is immune and no country can fight this battle alone," wrote the ambassador. "Cartels and criminals move fast. That's why we must move even faster."
Argentina's National Security Ministry underlined in a separate post on X: "Criminal organisations do not recognise borders — we confront them by pursuing their structures and working with our allies to enforce the law."
The scale of this challenge is enormous," said Monteoliva in her own post on X. "Organised crime is one of the great scourges of this century — it weakens governments and institutions, destroys human capital and deepens inequality. Without security there is no growth or development."
The Buenos Aires conference brings together delegations from more than 180 countries, according to the Argentine Presidency. Participants are holding "high-level strategic discussions aimed at strengthening operational cooperation, sharing critical intelligence and coordinating law enforcement priorities" against drug trafficking and related crimes, the US Embassy in Argentina said in a statement.
Launched by the DEA in 1983, IDEC serves as a multilateral forum and collaboration platform for the international police and judicial community's fight against drug-trafficking. Sponsored by the United States, it holds annual meetings in different countries — this is the first time it has been held in Argentina.
The joint hosting arrangement dates back to November 2025, when Patricia Bullrich, then Argentina's security minister, met a DEA delegation led by Cole – together with Michael Cabral, the DEA's Southern Cone division chief, and Thomas Miles, the agency's attaché in Argentina – to seal the agreement bringing the conference to Buenos Aires.
– TIMES/AFP/NA
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