Milei plans to build Argentina-Bolivia border wall, citing crime

Argentina’s Salta Province has begun a bidding process to build a roughly two-block fence near the Bolivian border as part of President Javier Milei’s efforts to crack down on drug-trafficking and contraband.

The bid was announced in an official notice published early Monday in the provincial gazette as part of a broader push by the national security ministry. In response, Bolivia’s Foreign Ministry expressed “concern” in a press release, saying border issues could affect the countries’ “peaceful coexistence” and should be addressed via diplomatic channels instead.

The fence will seal off a 200-metre (656-feet) no-man’s-land between the bus terminal and immigration office in the small border town of Aguas Blancas, acting mayor Adrián Zigarán said in a radio interview with Radio Mitre Monday. The roughly 2.5-metre-tall fence, located 500 metres from the border, would replace a small floodwall people frequently jump over to avoid immigration processing, he explained.

“It was total mayhem,” Zigarán said, recounting the ease with which people could bypass immigration controls. “I don’t know why this fence is causing such a controversy,” he added.

The town is a hub for cocaine-trafficking, according to a press release from the federal government.

Shopping tours whereby Argentines go to Bolivia to buy cheap tyres, clothes and electronics abound, Zigaran added, and are harming the province’s economy.