What You Need to Know:
The killing of two taxi drivers, a petrol station worker and bus driver by narco-gangs in Rosaria, a city in Argentina’s Sante Fe province, has triggered President Javier Milei to deploy 450 federal security personnel to take on gangs operating in the area.
The killings are thought to have been committed by the gangs in an attempt to dissuade the province’s Governor, Maximiliano Pullaro from fulfilling his promise to implement a ‘Bukele-style’ prison system in Santa Fe.
The system would bar prisoners from having cell-phones as well as limit visits to inmates from family members.
The Details:
Rosario locals staged a protest in the city this evening, banging pots and pans, calling for an end to gang violence in the city.
Additionally, schools, petrol stations and doctors offices closed their doors in protest. No taxis or bus services ran and garbage collection services refused to run for the day.
? Cacerolazos en Rosario en protesta por la ola de violencia
?? Cientos de vecinos rosarinos salieron de manera espontánea a protestar por la ola de violencia narco que atraviesa la ciudad pic.twitter.com/tzkhfjnZT6
— IP noticias (@_IPNoticias) March 11, 2024
Argentina’s Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich, announced the creation of a ‘crisis committee’ in the city, composed of federal security officials as well as the army. Bullrich stated her intent to implement anti-terrorism laws in the province.
Furthermore, President Milei announced his intent to propose an ‘anti-mafia’ Bill to congress which would essentially mark any crime committed by a gang member as a crime committed by the entire gang.
According to the Buenos Aires Times, since taking office in January, Governor Pullaro has received 25 death threats from various gangs in the province.
So, What Now?:
The ‘Bukele wave’ sweeping many South American nations threatens the hold that narco-gangs have on the continent. These gangs are often well equipped and are unlikely to submit to prison reforms without a fight.
Under the rule of Nayib Bukele, gang violence in El Salvador dropped exponentially due to his stringent prison reforms and ‘new take’ on tackling gang violence in his country.
After a weekend of violence shook El Salvador in 2022, Bukele introduced emergency powers to begin the process of the mass incarceration of suspected gang members. In the following months around 72,000 arrests were made. As a result, El Salvador’s murder rate declined by 70% in 2023, according to government figures.