News of security

Argentina's prison population grew 3.4% last year, says report

Yesterday 23:33 PROCUVIN institutional violence office highlights overcrowding at federal penitentiaries; More than 11,600 people now behind bars; “Progressive and sustained” increase over the last five years, warns report.

CRIME & SECURITY

Argentina to declare Mapuche group RAM a ‘terrorist organisation’

05-02-2025 14:28 Security Minister targets Facundo Jones Huala, the leader of the RAM indigenous group, over fires in Patagonia and vows to declare it a "terrorist organisation.”

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

Milei boosts Bullrich’s role in Cabinet reshaping

04-02-2025 14:17 President elevates Security minister’s role in restructuring of government ministries; Bullrich’s portfolio given “national” tag in move to underline importance of role, Press Secretariat abolished.

CRIME & SECURITY

Eruption of organised crime changes Chile’s daily customs

31-01-2025 14:50 Chileans rely on emergency jewellery, armoured cars and word of mouth as organised crime damages nation's reputation as one of the safest countries in Latin America.

FOREIGN POLICY & SECURITY

Argentina may send Armed Forces to beef up Triple Frontier security

30-01-2025 00:35 Border clampdown takes Brazil by surprise, with officials learning of move via media; Security, Defence Ministries fine-tuning details to determine number of troops and where they will be deployed.

Colombia Guerrilla Violence

Colombia tries to contain guerrilla violence that has killed 100

20-01-2025 15:43 A fresh outbreak of guerrilla violence amid a faltering peace process in Colombia has left 100 people dead and thousands displaced.

CRIME & SECURITY

Bullrich announces arrest of ‘terrorist linked to Islamic State’

16-01-2025 09:51 Nine-month investigation ends with arrest of 24-year-old in General Roca; Argentina’s security minister claims that “terrorist represented a concrete threat to national security" and was planning major attacks across nation.

Disappearance of Loan Danilo Peña

Pope voices concern over missing seven-year-old

15-01-2025 13:58 Pontiff expresses fears over disappearance of Loan Danilo Peña, the young boy who went missing in Corrientes seven months ago, noting hypothesis that child was “taken away to extract his organs for transplants.”

CRISIS IN VENEZUELA

Venezuela's 'colectivos' ready to pounce as opposition plans protest

08-01-2025 11:46 Venezuela's 'colectivos,' groups of armed civilian volunteers accused of committing violence on behalf of the Maduro regime, to clampdown on opposition protests.

AMID SCANDAL

Yáñez gives up state security detail amid NYE dinner furore

05-01-2025 10:26 Former first lady Fabiola Yáñez renounces state security detail that was strengthened in wake of her gender violence allegations against ex-president Alberto Fernández; Milei and Bullrich had criticised her use of proection officers, revealing it had cost state at least US$147,000 since last August.

Latin America

Ecuadorean adolescents still missing as search efforts increase

23-12-2024 20:34 President Daniel Noboa orders intensified search for four boys as public outrage grows ahead of elections. Military officials deny involvement.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Amnesty Int’l urges Milei to respect rights after year of ‘confrontation’

19-12-2024 14:18 Data compiled by rights NGO shows more than 1,100 people were injured in protest “repression” during Milei’s first year in office

by James Grainger

Congress & Politics

Entre Ríos lawmaker accused of money-laundering expelled from Senate

13-12-2024 13:29 Entre Ríos Senator Edgardo Kueider expelled from upper house while detained in Paraguay on suspicion of money-laundering; He and other detainee found with more than US$200,000 in cash as he attempted to cross border.

CRIME IN THE CAPITAL

Robberies on the rise in Buenos Aires City, data shows

03-12-2024 15:12 What crimes are on the rise in the City of Buenos Aires? ‘Motochorro’ motorcycle petty theft and home robberies are increasing, with Palermo the most targeted part of the capital.

CRIME & SECURITY

‘Narco-terrorists’ make death threats against security minister, governor

02-12-2024 16:18 Security Minister Patricia Bullrich vows to clamp down on “narco-terrorists” after threats against her and Santa Fe Province Governor Maximilaino Pullaro in video.

Remnants of a coup - Brazil

Brazil arrests four soldiers over alleged 2022 Lula assassination plot

19-11-2024 14:29 Brazilian police arrest four soldiers and a police officer working at G20 summit, for allegedly plotting a coup in 2022 to prevent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office.

LATAM

Hunger in G20 host Brazil is Lula's unfinished fight

14-11-2024 19:32 Left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will call for "Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty" at the G20 summit in Rio.

EXPLOSIONS IN BRASÍLIA

Brazil investigating Supreme Court bomb attack as 'terrorist act'

14-11-2024 14:06 Blast which were set off outside of the Brazilian supreme court are now being investigated by security authorities as a potential terrorist act.

Football violence

Three sought over murders of Rosario Central football hooligans

11-11-2024 15:55 Police seeking three people in connection with murder of two key members of Rosario Central's 'barra brava' hooligan gang over the weekend.

Hooliganism strikes again

Two Rosario Central fans killed as football violence again rears head

10-11-2024 17:26 Two fans shot dead after football match; Clashes outside Rosario Central’s stadium, with top hooligan gang leader killed.

UNITED STATES ELECTION 2024

'Panic buttons,' SWAT teams: United States braces for election unrest

04-11-2024 15:50 Ahead of a highly contentious 2024 US presidential election, authorities are ramping up unprecedented security measures to prevent potential unrest, disinformation, and violence.

TERROR ATTACKS

Argentina names Hezbollah operative behind AMIA, Israeli Embassy attacks

31-10-2024 15:54 Security Minister Patricia Bullrich reveals identity of top Hezbollah leader in Latin America, alleging Hussein Ahmad Karaki was responsible for the AMIA community centre and Israeli Embassy bombings in the 1990s.

POLLS & SURVEYS

Chile overwhelmingly scorns immigration, poll shows

31-10-2024 10:43 Chileans are demanding stricter immigration controls much more than neighbours in other Latin American nations, according to a new poll, as an influx of newcomers upends politics in one of the region’s richest economies.

DRUG-TRAFFICKING

‘Mochileros de la cocaína’ – Rising numbers of drug ‘mule’ backpackers

12-09-2024 13:00 Farm hands, manual labourers and local guides in the north of Argentina are being coopted by criminal organisations for the overland transfer of drugs across the frontier with Bolivia, crossing mountains and valleys without caring about the weather or the visibility.

by Leonardo Nieva

CRIME & SECURITY

‘Butcher of Giles’: Fugitive killer who murdered family apprehended by police

09-09-2024 17:04 Luis Iribarren Longevin – “El carnicero de Giles” or “Butcher of San Andrés de Giles” – arrested in Santiago del Estero Province after 11 days on the run; Serial killer, who was serving life for murder of his parents, two siblings and aunt, escaped in August while on educational outing.

CRIME & SECURITY

Fugitive Misiones ex-deputy accused of paedophilia captured by police

29-08-2024 13:20 Expelled Activar lawmaker Germán Kiczka, wanted by the courts on charges of paedophilia and child pornography, captured by police in Corrientes after six days on the run.

KILLING OF TEHUEL DE LA TORRE

Verdict in first trial into suspected murder of trans man nears

28-08-2024 14:52 More than three years after the disappearance of Tehuel de la Torre, a sentence is expected to be handed down imminently against one of the individuals accused of killing the trans man.

CRIME & SECURITY

Manhunt for fugitive Misiones lawmaker accused of child porn offences

26-08-2024 17:49 International arrest warrant issued for ex-provincial lawmaker Germán Kiczka for child pornography offences; Libertarian deputy ejected from provincial legislature and flees home in vote as court issues international warrant for arrest of Kiczka and his brother Sebastián.

CRIME & SECURITY

Police arrest seven members of ‘radical Islamic terrorist group’

18-08-2024 09:40 Security Minister Patricia Bullrich says on social media that eight Federal Police raids have "dismantled a dangerous organisation linked to a radical Islamic terrorist group"; She says "anti-Christian, anti-Jewish" group , identified after threatening a journalist of the Jewish community."

Disappearance of Loan Danilo Peña

Two months since Loan disappeared – how the case continues

14-08-2024 12:11 Seven people remain in jail accused of a link to the boy’s abduction, while Judge Cristina Penzo hears key testimony from the boy’s relative.

POLITICS

Corrientes security minister resigns post amid missing child case

12-07-2024 15:28 Buenaventura Duarte has tendered his resignation to Corrientes Province Governor Gustavo Valdés, with national deputy Alfredo Vallejos set to replace him.

CRIME & SECURITY

Investigation into of disappearance of five-year-old takes disturbing twist

11-07-2024 21:10 Hundreds of protesters join father of missing child Loan Danilo Peña for demonstration in Buenos Aires as police sources in Corrientes discover child pornography on the mobile phone of their prime suspect.

CFK ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

CFK attempted murder trial: Carrizo says he 'would never kill'

04-07-2024 16:23 Nicolás Carrizo weeps as he defended himself in court on Wednesday, saying he would "never kill a person" during second hearing into September 2022 attempted assassination of former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Social indicators cast doubt over Milei's 'catastrophe' averted claim

04-07-2024 13:09 President Javier Milei recently stated that the government’s social policy is “extremely good” and it had help prevent a “catastrophe.” Yet the government's own data and reports produced by private institutions indicate most social indicators have recorded a step backwards since he took office.

by Agustina Bordigoni

Disappearance of Loan Danilo Peña

Aunt of missing five-year-old child Loan testifies he was ‘run over’

29-06-2024 15:23 Confession delivers unexpected twist in missing child case; Loan Danilo Peña, last seen two weeks ago, was “run over” by ex-Navy officer Carlos Pérez and ex-municipal employee María Victoria Caillava, says aunt; Police believe body may have been buried in cover-up.

JUSTICE SYSTEM & PRISONS

Milei slashes budget for legal centres in favour of prison spending

29-06-2024 04:25 Argentina’s Justice Ministry announces closure of 81 Centres of Access to Justice nationwide; Milei government boosts budget for the ‘Criminal Policy’ programme by 963% in move to “modernise Penitentiary Service” and “improve the situation of persons deprived of liberty."

by Agustina Bordigoni

CRIME & SECURITY

‘All available resources’ deployed in search for find missing five-year-old

27-06-2024 18:14 Unsuccessful search for Loan Danilo Peña in Corrientes Province amid suspicions of child-trafficking; “Culprits” will pay, declares Patricia Bullrich as lead suspects are moved to jails in Salta and Chaco; President Milei meets Security minister for update on search.

Disappearance of Loan Danilo Peña

Milei dispatches security minister amid furore for missing child

25-06-2024 22:59 Patricia Bullrich announces national government will lead the search and investigation for Loan Danilo Peña, the five-year-old boy who went missing 12 days ago in Corrientes Province.

Disappearance of Loan Danilo Peña

Security minister travels to Paraguay as Argentina hunts for missing five-year-old

24-06-2024 16:59 The Security minister will travel to the neighbouring country on Tuesday. The detainees will be charged with human trafficking. Loan Danilo Peña, aged 5, was last seen on Thursday 13 in the town of 9 de Julio, Corrientes.

COURTS

Ex-Tucumán governor handed 16 years for rape, sexual assault

18-06-2024 22:40 Former provincial governor and senator sentenced to 16 years and lifetime ban from holding political office; Found guilty of rape and sexual abuse of his ex-aide, a distant relative who worked for him as an advisor between 2017 and 2018.

CRIME & SECURITY

Bullrich visits El Salvador to study Bukele’s approach to crime

17-06-2024 16:43 Patricia Bullrich visits El Salvador as she takes closer look at nation’s approaching to tackling crime; Security minister due to visit President Nayib Bukele during trip to Central America.

CONGRESS VIOLENCE

Officials slam ‘coup’ attempt after Congress clashes

13-06-2024 15:07 President Milei, Patricia Bullrich and Manuel Adorni accuse violent demonstrators of seeking to overthrow government in a "modern coup d'état."

PROTESTS IN POSADAS

Police protest lifted after pay deal, two weeks of tension in Misiones ends

29-05-2024 10:40 After 13 days of tension and demonstrations in Posadas, Misiones police seal pay deal with provincial government and lift protest.

RAPE ALLEGATION

'They raped me’ – Journalist recounts allegation against ex-Vélez players

21-05-2024 15:59 The young female sports journalist who has accused three former Vélez Sarsfield footballers of raping her back in March has repeated her allegations in a new interview.

SOCIAL UNREST

Police in Misiones take to streets as pay protest intensifies

20-05-2024 13:16 Active and retired police officers in Misiones Province stage street demonstrations in demand of better pay.

CRIME & SECURITY

Protesters demand justice after lethal arson attack on lesbians

13-05-2024 21:34 Protesters took to streets in Buenos Aires on Monday evening to demand justice in the wake of a deadly attack on four lesbians that left three dead and another fighting for her life.

CRIME & SECURITY

Santiago Maldonado: Courts reopens case, sidelines Judge Lleral

13-05-2024 15:08 Comodoro Rivadavia federal court rules out a forced disappearance but accepts appeal from dead youth’s family and human rights organisations questioning impartiality of magistrate leading case.

CRIME & SECURITY

Crime deterring return of South American footballers

07-05-2024 13:19 Insecurity in Latin America often discourages local football stars who want to return to their roots as they reach the end of their careers.

CRIME & SECURITY

Chaco: Cecilia Strzyzowski femicide case sent to trial

01-05-2024 10:26 Former partner César Sena, his parents Emiliano Sena and Marcela Acuña, and four assistants of powerful local picket-leader, look set to face trial by jury.