The Argentine government has declared a state of maximum alert at border crossings with Brazil and ordered the deployment of the Army to reinforce security in the region. According to RFI , the decision was made following Operation Containment, carried out by Rio de Janeiro security forces against the Comando Vermelho gang in Rio de Janeiro. The mega-operation, which involved 2,500 police officers, left 121 people dead, four of them security force agents.
During an interview at the Casa Rosada, the Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, stated that the measure aims to prevent the entry of criminals who may attempt to cross Argentine territory. “I will issue the highest alert at the borders to ensure that there is no crossing into Argentine territory by those who are clearly moving from the center of the conflict in Rio de Janeiro,” she declared.
Enhanced inspections and cooperation with neighboring countries
According to Bullrich, the alert implies rigorous inspections of all Brazilians entering Argentina. “This maximum alert means scrutinizing all Brazilians coming to Argentina, checking for criminal records, but without confusing tourists with members of the Comando Vermelho,” he emphasized.
The minister also sent a letter to the Ministry of Defense requesting military reinforcement at the border based on the so-called “stampede theory,” according to which, when surrounded, criminal groups seek refuge in other countries. She also ordered the intensification of cooperation with police forces from Brazil and Paraguay, for the exchange of information and joint actions.
Troops, armored vehicles and helicopters sent to Misiones
Defense Minister Luis Petri confirmed the deployment of troops to the province of Misiones, on the border with the Brazilian states of Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. “We will send Army control and surveillance teams to reinforce the border with Brazil. It is fundamental to protect Argentinians in the face of the ‘exodus’ mentioned by the Minister of Security. These are narcoterrorists with military firepower, using armed drones,” Petri said in an interview with the A24 channel.
Military actions will focus primarily on the Triple Frontier, between Puerto Iguazú (Argentina), Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil), and Ciudad del Este (Paraguay). The plan includes the deployment of armored vehicles, helicopters, military trucks, and cyber defense units, in addition to air and surveillance operations.
Brazilian factions are declared terrorist organizations
Minister Bullrich confirmed that Comando Vermelho and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) have been officially classified as terrorist organizations in Argentina. The decision was made in early October, and the two factions were included in the Public Registry of Persons and Entities Linked to Acts of Terrorism (REPET), which is linked to the Ministry of Justice.
“In Argentina there are 39 Brazilians imprisoned, of whom five belong to Comando Vermelho and seven or eight to PCC. We have very strict control over them, and they are isolated so that they have no power whatsoever,” Bullrich stated, according to the report. The minister also criticized the Brazilian prison system. “We do not agree with the theory of coexisting with drug trafficking. In Brazil there are prisons where judges cannot enter because they are controlled by drug traffickers.”
Alignment with the US
Bullrich further stated that Brazilian factions have links to international terrorism, citing the 2023 arrest of Brazilians recruited by the Lebanese group Hezbollah. “They had the entire internal structure of the PCC that helped the terrorists. That’s why we declared this organization as narcoterrorist,” he explained.
In August, the Argentine government had already declared the Venezuelan Cartel of the Suns a terrorist organization, aligning itself with the United States’ decision. Earlier this month, the Ecuadorian factions Los Choneros and Los Lobos also received the same classification.
Bolivia’s president-elect also calls for increased border security after operation against criminal faction in Rio Bolivia’s president-elect, Rodrigo Paz, requested this Thursday (30) that the government of Luis Arce adopt immediate measures to reinforce security on the borders with Brazil. The request comes after a mega police operation in Rio de Janeiro, which resulted in more than 120 deaths and targeted the Comando Vermelho (CV) faction.
“Bolivia cannot allow criminal infiltration,” says Paz
In a statement, according to CNN Brazil , the president-elect affirmed that firm action is needed to protect the Bolivian state. “Bolivia cannot allow foreign criminal structures to infiltrate its territory, nor compromise the security of the state. The country demands coordination, responsibility, and firmness,” he declared.
In the statement, Paz calls on Arce’s government to adopt all necessary control and security measures to prevent the entry of members of criminal organizations from Brazil. The text also mentions the “serious episodes of violence that have recently occurred in Rio de Janeiro” and states that border protection must be treated as a national priority, above any political differences.
Source: Agência Brasil & brasil247.com