MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Defence ministers: poverty causes crime

The defence ministers of Argentina, Brazil and Chile yesterday agreed that “poverty” and “social inequality” are the main causes of crime, violence and instability in the region.

Brazil's Defence Minister José Viegas Filho, Chile's Deputy Minister Gabriel Gaspar Tapia and Argentina's Defence Minister José Pampuro met yesterday during a conference on regional security in this city. Pampuro said that poverty needs to be reduced "to bring greater security to the region."

He added, "nobody is ignoring poverty levels and that inequality in our nations continues to be very high."

Before the meeting, Pampuro confirmed that the United States Embassy in Buenos Aires denied visas to two retired officers for having human rights abuse records during Argentina's 1976-1983 military dictatorship. He refused to identify the two officers.