News of police

Police raid swingers party – and guests confuse officer with stripper

11-01-2021 19:08 In scenes that seem to have been ripped straight out a comedy movie, police officers in Buenos Aires Province raided a secret swingers’ party this weekend – only for attendees to mistake one officer for a stripper.

2020: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

2020: The year that was

02-01-2021 09:27 Economic crisis, rising poverty and unemployment, debt talks, creditors, the IMF, wealth tax, squatters, a police mutiny, the failed appropriation of Vicentin, alleged AFI espionage, ‘lawfare,’ corruption, legalised abortion, diplomacy, disappearances, the death of Diego Maradona… a lot happened in Argentina over the past 12 months, but it was all overshadowed by Covid-19.

by Michael Soltys

Revenue-sharing row

City mayor rails against 'political attack' as tensions over funding soar

03-12-2020 11:20 Political tensions have surged back to the fore in Argentina after the Chamber of Deputies approved by a 129-118 vote a sharp cut in this city’s federal revenue-sharing funding on Tuesday following a marathon 20-hour session and intense debate.

TERROR THREAT?

Argentina tightens border after tip-off warns of bomb attack on Jewish community

15-11-2020 10:34 Security Ministry opens probe after anonymous tipster warns Embassy in London that explosive material is due to cross border with Paraguay “for a bomb in Argentina with a Jewish objective.”

US ELECTION 2020

Oregon police face off with anti-Trump protesters

05-11-2020 02:29 Hundreds of state police and left-wing protesters were locked in a tense standoff in downtown Portland late Wednesday after rampaging anti-Trump groups smashed shop windows, prompting the state governor to activate the National Guard.

FROM WHERE I STAND

An election for the soul of America

31-10-2020 08:43 With both the Democratic and Republican candidates in the United States declaring that this election is a battle to save “the soul of America,” it is time to ask where the soul lies.

by Robert Cox

LAND OCCUPATIONS

Photo gallery: Police evict families, protesters from Guernica camp

29-10-2020 17:47 Police officers clash with protesters and homeless during strong-armed eviction of Guernica encampment, with Buenos Aires Province Security Minister Sergio Berni helping to lead the operation.

LAND OCCUPATIONS

Violent eviction of Guernica squatters camp draws criticism

29-10-2020 17:34 Hundreds of mostly homeless families living in improvised shacks at the Guernica encampment in Buenos Aires Province evicted by police, with violent clashes between demonstrators and officers.

CRIME & SECURITY

Four injured, including two police officers, in shooting incident at Retiro

27-10-2020 18:06 Four people, including two police officers, were injured on Tuesday morning as gunshots were fired near the Retiro railway station in Buenos Aires.

BOLIVIAN ELECTION

Bolivia's Morales calls for calm after protesters demand junta

27-10-2020 17:33 Exiled former Bolivian president calls for calm after right-wing protesters in Santa Cruz demand a "military junta" to replace socialist president-elect Luis Arce.

POLICE & THE PANDEMIC

Police hero sells off bravery medals to make ends meet

24-10-2020 09:11 Franco Arias is one of a rare group of police officers who have won two gold medals for valour in the course of duty. He’s also been forced into obligatory retirement as a result of long-term illness – despite the national government’s ban on dismissals during the Covid-19 pandemic.

by Nick Evans

HUMAN RIGHTS

Chile President Piñera condemns police violence against protesters

07-10-2020 01:09 Sebastián Piñera condemns police violence against protesters in Santiago after an officer threw a young demonstrator from a bridge.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Police officer in Chile accused of throwing teen from bridge

04-10-2020 19:13 Authorities in Chile have arrested a police officer who allegedly threw a teenager from a bridge into a river bed during a protest.

Death of Facundo Astudillo Castro

Autopsy: Facundo Astudillo Castro's death was 'violent,' caused by 'drowning'

02-10-2020 14:55 Forensic experts conclude late 22-year-old died of “asphyxia by submersion,” adding it was not possible to determine if the young man’s death was a homicide due to “advanced skeletonisation of corpse.” No evidence of third-party involvement, nor that body was moved after death.

by James Grainger

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Police deaths in Salta highlight threat facing frontline workers

26-09-2020 09:43 Frontline workers are bearing the brunt of Covid-19 in the northern province of Salta, with the deaths of two doctors and three police officers in the past week alone.

by Nick Evans

US Racial Unrest

Dismay over Breonna Taylor spills into America's streets

24-09-2020 14:22 No officers were charged for the killing of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was shot in her home in Louisville, Kentucky, causing another wave of protests in the United States over racial injustice.

CLASHES WITH POLICE

Protesting nurses wounded in clashes with City Police

22-09-2020 09:16 Police officers clashed with protesting nurses outside the Buenos Aires City Legislature on Monday, with a number of demonstrators walking away wounded.

AS I SEE IT

The cracks keep widening

12-09-2020 10:30 People the world over are getting more irascible by the day, and the unease so many feel is making governments everywhere nervous.

by James Neilson

CORRUPTION & THE COURTS

Lázaro Báez leaves jail for house arrest at ‘secret location’

12-09-2020 09:51 Kirchnerite tycoon leaves Ezeiza prison after more than four years behind bars. Residents block his entry to property at gated community he was due to reside at, sparking U-turn and search for new location.

GUEST VOICE

Behind the conflict with the police

12-09-2020 09:43 The reasons for the protest? We can divide them into two main categories: institutional and political.

by Andrei Serbin Pont

THE WEEK

What we learned this week: September 5 to 12

12-09-2020 09:33 Key stories that caught our eye during the last seven days in Argentina.

by Michael Soltys

POLICE MUTINY

Provincial police spark anger and action with pay rebellion

12-09-2020 09:28 Protests by Buenos Aires Province police force seize nation’s attention, sparking criticism from lawmakers and a controversial response from President Fernández.

EDITORIAL

Cops and robbers

12-09-2020 09:08 The solution can all too often be the problem. It’s a paradox which applies to this week’s federal revenue-sharing shuffle at the chief opposition district’s expense, to appease a mutinous Buenos Aires provincial police.

REVENUE-SHARING ROW

Opposition anger at ‘unconstitutional’ federal revenue-sharing move

12-09-2020 09:00 Buenos Aires City Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta said the president had chosen “division” over “dialogue.”

POLITICS & THE PANDEMIC

Police mutiny mayhem

12-09-2020 08:54 Anyone familiar with Argentina knows that it is a land of political agitation and volatility. Protests are nothing new, but a full-blown police mutiny over pay and working conditions is relatively rare.

by Martín Gambarotta

Provincial police rebel

Fernández tries to defuse protests by Buenos Aires Province police

09-09-2020 23:27 Police officers in Buenos Aires Province escalate protests, with a group congregating outside the Olivos presidential residence. President Alberto Fernández vows to meet demands but criticises demonstration.

Provincial police rebel

Police rebel against 7,000 infections and 40-peso-an-hour overtime

09-09-2020 17:10 Officers are in a mutinous mood throughout Argentina’s largest province, as the coronavirus pandemic brings to a head problems unresolved over many years.

by Leonardo Nieva

POLICE PROTEST

Police officers in Buenos Aires Province protest to demand better salaries

08-09-2020 15:59 Government promises pay increase after retired and active police officers stage demonstration outside Governor Kicillof's residence in La Plata to demand urgent salary increases and more protective equipment to protect against Covid-19.

DEATH OF FACUNDO ASTUDILLO CASTRO

How the search for Facundo Astudillo Castro unfolded

05-09-2020 09:02 Facundo Astudillo Castro was missing for more than 100 days. Here are key moments from the search for the missing 22-year-old and the investigation into his disappearance.

by Héctor Velázquez

Facundo Astudillo Castro

Protesters rally in capital to demand justice for Facundo Castro

04-09-2020 02:50 Protest held one day after forensic experts confirm remains of a body found in a rural area of Buenos Aires Province belong to Castro, a 22-year-old who had been missing for more than 100 days.

FACUNDO ASTUDILLO CASTRO

Judge confirms found remains belong to Facundo Astudillo Castro

03-09-2020 04:11 Bahía Blanca Federal Judge María Gabriela Marrón confirms remains of a skeleton found earlier this month belong to missing 22-year-old, who was last seen alive on April 30.

Facundo Astudillo Castro

Reports: Autopsy results show found remains belong to Facundo Castro

31-08-2020 19:25 Multiple local news outlets report that remains found in Villarino, near Bahía Blanca, are from body of missing 22-year-old, who was last seen alive on April 30.

Presidential agenda

Fernández to reboot government's agenda with new announcements

31-08-2020 10:04 President seeks to push agenda beyond the immediate challenges of virus pandemic, with government planning series of announcements related to the economy, debt talks and security.

Facundo Astudillo Castro

Fernández promises Facundo Castro's mother there will be 'no cover-up'

17-08-2020 16:29 President Alberto Fernández calls mother of missing 22-year-old Facundo Castro and vows there will be no cover-up, should the unidentified body found over the weekend prove to be her missing son's.

INTERVIEW / PERIODISMO PURO

Sabina Frederic: ‘Security means protecting people, not repression’

08-08-2020 08:37 During almost eight months leading the Security Ministry, social anthropologist and university professor Sabina Frederic has found herself under criticism from both Sergio Berni and Horacio Verbitsky. In a feature-length interview, she discusses those debates, Sergio Maldonado, Facundo Castro and why mediation should be prioritised over the violent use of force.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Coronavirus pandemic

Miguel Etchecolatz, ‘Tigre’ Acosta test positive for coronavirus

06-08-2020 23:38 Two of the most infamous criminals convicted of crimes against humanity during Argentina’s last military dictatorship (1976-1983), Miguel Etchecolatz and Jorge 'Tigre' Acosta, test positive for Covid-19.

by Luciana Bertoia

Facundo Astudillo Castro

Search for Facundo Castro: Mother says she has no hope of finding him alive

06-08-2020 17:13 Cristina Castro says she has "no hope" her son will be found alive, as investigators uncover items in search for missing 22-year-old.

POLICE BRUTALITY

Complaint filed after 17-year-old 'tortured with cattle prod' by police officers

31-07-2020 01:57 Members of Buenos Aires provincial force formally denounced by rights group for allegedly beating up a 17-year-old youth and torturing him with an electric cattle prod.

UNITED STATES

Portland protests: UN calls on US to ensure right to peaceful protest

25-07-2020 09:57 US President Donald Trump’s decision to order a controversial crackdown on demonstrations in Portland, the biggest city in the US state of Oregon, sparks anger and UN warning.

SECURITY & CRIME

Bullrich, Berni express support for ‘vigilante justice’ pensioner who killed his attacker

25-07-2020 09:53 Politicians express support for 71-year-old Quilmes retiree Jorge Adolfo Ríos, as crime and security returns to forefront of political agenda.

EDITORIAL

From Portland to Bahía Blanca and beyond

25-07-2020 09:13 The issues raised by Portland may be on the backburner here, but while this pandemic will eventually go away, the state mechanisms reared against it are likely to persist.

Interpol operation

Mafia fugitives arrested in Palermo in drug-smuggling sting

24-07-2020 16:42 Three alleged members of the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta mafia organisation were arrested in Buenos Aires last week and are now being processed for extradition to Italy. The sting was part of a larger Interpol investigation of 45 members of the organisation who are spread across the world.

80 days missing

Search for Facundo Castro: New witnesses, mobile phone signal and DNA tests

21-07-2020 00:13 Search for missing 22-year-old, who was last seen on April 30 walking along Route 3 between Pedro Luro and Bahía Blanca when he was detained by Buenos Aires provincial police officers in Mayor Buratovich, advances.

by Leonardo Nieva

POLICE BRUTALITY

Tucumán: Probe into police opened after man 'suffocated' during arrest

28-06-2020 19:09 Investigation opened in northern province after death of 43-year-old Walter Ceferino Nadal, in circumstances allegedly similar to death of George Floyd in United States.

Global pandemic

Chile police sue feminist group Las Tesis alleging incitement of violence

17-06-2020 15:30 The Chilean police are suing the prominent feminist group alleging that they incited violence against officers.

Argentina

'We live with racism and marginalisation,' assert Afro-Argentine activists

11-06-2020 16:23 Three activists from different cultural backgrounds explain what it means to live as a member of the black community in Argentina, which, according to the last census, numbers more than 150,000.

by Stephanie Peuscovich

KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD

Black Lives Matter movement goes mainstream

11-06-2020 15:29 Black Lives Matter has gone mainstream — and black activists are carefully assessing how they should respond.

Killing of George Floyd

Hundreds line up for George Floyd's memorial in Houston

08-06-2020 15:00 A public viewing was held Monday in Houston for George Floyd, the man who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25, following two weeks of protests worldwide.

PROTESTS AGAINST RACISM

Anger at new US police abuse videos, with more protests set for weekend

06-06-2020 09:47 With rolling demonstrations over the death last week of George Floyd showing little sign of letting up, arguments raged over the level of force officers were deploying against largely peaceful protesters.