Argentina Tightens Border Controls with Brazil After Rio Police Operation
The Argentine government on Wednesday ordered reinforced controls along its border with Brazil following a major police operation in Rio de Janeiro against a drug trafficking group that left more than 100 people dead the previous day.
“We are strengthening border security to protect Argentines from any possible escape attempts,” said Argentina’s Security Minister Patricia Bullrich on social media.
Argentina and Brazil share a 1,132-kilometer border. The minister did not specify whether additional personnel would be deployed but requested that “the manual for identifying the characteristic signs of these narco-terrorist groups be sent to border agents to facilitate possible identifications.”
“This means examining Brazilians arriving in Argentina very carefully to determine whether they have criminal records,” Bullrich added during a press conference at the Government House.
Tuesday’s operation was the largest ever conducted in Rio de Janeiro, mobilizing 2,500 officers against the Comando Vermelho (Red Command), the main criminal group operating in the city’s densely populated favelas.
After initially reporting about 60 deaths, Rio authorities later revised the toll to 119 — including 115 suspected criminals and four police officers.
According to Rio’s right-wing governor, Claudio Castro, after more than a year of investigation and 113 arrests, the intervention was a “success.”
