News of drug crime

Peru extradites key suspect in triple murder case to Argentina

04-05-2026 18:29 Suspect accused of orchestrating drug-linked killings to face court as families protest for justice.

Anaesthetist’s death sparks police probe into secret stolen drug parties

01-04-2026 12:44 Thirty-one-year-old anaesthetist Alejandro Zalazar was found dead in his flat in Palermo last month, alongside medical supplies allegedly stolen from the Hospital Italiano; Police investigating reported “drug parties” involving “controlled trips,” in which users were given propofol and fentanyl.

by James Grainger

POLITICS & CORRUPTION

Senator-elect accused of US drug arrest gives up battle for seat

03-12-2025 12:57 La Libertad Avanza national deputy Lorena Villaverde says she has “no ongoing criminal cases either in Argentina or in the United States” against her but says she will resign the Senate seat she won in October to stay in the lower house.

REGIONAL TENSIONS

Latin American nations concerned by US-Venezuela tension

04-09-2025 16:04 Washington ramps up regional crime fight; Trump confirms Washington killed 11 “terrorists” when it took down a boat allegedly carrying drugs into international waters.

CONTAMINATED DRUG SCANDAL

Tainted fentanyl death toll clears 100 as Milei blames opposition

15-08-2025 10:14 President Javier Milei uses appearance at campaign rally in La Plata to point finger at opposition Kirchnerites and link rivals to developing scandal.

CRIME & SECURITY

Tainted fentanyl blamed for 87 hospital deaths

13-08-2025 22:58 Contaminated drug scandal grows, authorities fear true number of deaths may be even higher; Casa Rosada orders recusal of judge leading case, citing conflict of interest.

CRIME & SECURITY

Argentina applies new ‘anti-mafia law’ in Rosario

16-05-2025 12:49 Milei government applies “anti-mafia law” against organised crime in troubled Santa Fe city; Rosario becomes first place in country to see application of new crime-fighting law.

BORDER ROW

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

28-01-2025 09:29 Salta Province plans to build short fence near the Bolivian border as part of a crackdown on drug-trafficking and contraband.

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.

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