BUENOS AIRES, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Patricia Bullrich, Argentina's security minister, is on a mission to eliminate drug gangs in the South American nation, which have fueled escalating violence and increased cocaine trafficking to Europe. She claims to be making significant progress.
Argentina has become a key transit point for cocaine, as supplies from Peru and Bolivia flow through vital waterways and exit via river ports like Rosario, the hometown of Lionel Messi. Gang-related homicides have surged in parallel.
In a rare interview with international media, Bullrich stated that the one-year-old libertarian government of President Javier Milei has been dismantling criminal organizations and thwarting drug shipments towards end markets, notably Europe.
"We've had record cocaine seizures, garnering considerable respect regionally and in Europe; no Argentine shipments to Europe were detected in 2024," she mentioned, with a caveat that "some shipments may have gone undetected."
Bullrich's ministry confirmed no cocaine was found in any cargo crossing the South Atlantic from Argentina to a major European port in 2024. Reuters could not independently verify this information.
Previously a rival to Milei for the main conservative bloc's presidential candidacy, Bullrich is now at the forefront of battling crime, securing borders with Brazil and Bolivia, privatizing certain prisons, and employing artificial intelligence to combat criminal networks.