CRIME & SECURITY Milei announces overhaul of Federal Police’s powers Yesterday 23:10 Government moves to grant Federal Police officers greater freedom to detain suspects and investigate crimes; Rights groups express concerns over new statutes.
PRESS FREEDOM Photographer freed after being violently detained at protest 22-05-2025 15:10 An AFP collaborator, photojournalist Tomas Cuesta, was freed in Buenos Aires Monday after he was detained with three other people at a pensioners' march that saw clashes with police.
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.
COURTS Former Misiones lawmaker sentenced to 14 years in child sex abuse case 17-04-2025 01:20 Germán Kiczka and his brother Sebastián convicted by provincial court of possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material.; Ex-Activar lawmaker handed 14 years in prison, sibling given 12 years for same crimes and sexual abuse of 15-year-old girl.
Crime & Security La Matanza tops homicide stats in Buenos Aires Province 16-04-2025 14:23 More than 150 murders were recorded in La Matanza last year — 11 more than in 2023.
CRIME & SECURITY ‘I have the weapons’ – Parents alert police to teens’ school shooting plan 04-04-2025 14:39 Group of teens discussed carrying out an armed attack on their school in Ingeniero Maschwitz; Parents alerted police after discovering WhatsApp messages detailing the plan.
death of diego maradona Witness arrested for false testimony at Maradona death trial 25-03-2025 17:39 Julio Coria, Diego Maradona's former bodyguard, detained for false testimony after the court in charge of trial into legendary footballer's death noted contradictions in his statements.
HUMAN RIGHTS Rights body criticises Milei over policing of protests 20-03-2025 16:53 Inter-American Commission of Human Rights calls on President Javier Milei’s government to guarantee freedom of expression and association as it voices concerns; Weekly pensioners’ protest passes off without major incident.
PENSION PROTEST Milei government issues public transport threat to demonstators 19-03-2025 11:19 Hours before weekly pension protest, message broadcast at stations across Buenos Aires metropolitan area warns that police “will repress any attempt against the Republic.”
POLITICS – ANALYSIS Violence and institutional informality 15-03-2025 07:29 There are serious questions as to what happened on the streets outside Congress, but it clearly helped to distract the attention away from what was going on inside Congress and in the troubled port city of Bahía Blanca. by Agustino Fontevecchia
POLITICS & SECURITY Bullrich blames photographer’s injuries on ‘those who generate violence’ 13-03-2025 23:52 National Security Minister Patricia Bullrich rejects criticism of approach to policing of pensioners’ protest and vows violent acts will be met by “police repression.”
CLASHES WITH SECURITY FORCES More than 120 detained, 20 injured as pensions protest turns violent 13-03-2025 01:54 Protesting pensioners joined by football supporters for anti-austerity demonstration; Security forces clash with hooligans; 124 detained and at least 20 injured in one of the most violent demonstrations against Milei’s austerity measures. by Zella Milfred
Foreign policy & diplomacy Milei to visit Spain, make second trip to Israel 04-03-2025 14:49 President Javier Milei will travel to Tel Aviv on March 23, according to the government; La Libertad Avanza leader hopes to meet PM Netanyahu and ink memorandum on security and defence collaboration. by James Grainger
CRIME & SECURITY Milei tells Kicillof to resign over Buenos Aires Province ‘bloodbath’ 28-02-2025 15:46 Opposition expresses outrage as President Javier Milei calls on Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof to resign in response to shocking killing of seven-year-old.
CRIME & SECURITY ‘Devastated’: Family lays seven-year-old to rest after brutal death 27-02-2025 21:21 Government plans to ramp up efforts to lower age of criminal responsibility after two teenagers kill innocent seven-year-old in car theft gone wrong.
GANG VIOLENCE In Río de Janeiro, a wrong turn takes paradise to peril 14-02-2025 13:32 Around the corner from Brazil's biggest tourist attractions lie gang-guarded areas where 19 people were shot last year.
GANG VIOLENCE Ecuador's wild west shows limits of Noboa's 'iron fist' 13-02-2025 14:40 As gang violence kills neighbours and levels homes, frightened residents of Ecuador's Puerto Bolívar coastal city doubt President Noboa's promise of safety.
PRISON POPULATION Argentina's prison population grew 3.4% last year, says report 11-02-2025 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.