MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Argentine military to have a greater role in combating drug-trafficking
Argentina’s Armed Forces will soon play a bigger role in the fight against drug-trafficking and terrorism, as the president Mauricio Macri administration looks to assigning new responsibilities to the military in domestic and border security. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesWhy is it that the picture of argie forces marching reminds me, apart from the uniforms, of pictures and videos of soviet troops marching?
May 31st, 2018 - 10:14 am - Link - Report abuse 0Generally, “normal” militaries parade march with their rifles resting on their shoulders. Giving an indication that they are not about to pull triggers on full automatic to mow down defenceless civilians.
TWIMC...
May 31st, 2018 - 12:35 pm - Link - Report abuse 0THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN...
To the Anglo Turnip above...
Maybe because they are NOT Argie troops in the above picture..., but European NATO troops..., known for having shot scores of civilian Sandniggas in the past two decades...?
(Cue: Look at the insignia on the arm of the soldier in the midth... You see that crown...?)
Scores in two decades, during actual wars, vs 30,000 in less than one, in their own country with little armed opposition? I think I'll stick with NATO, thanks.
May 31st, 2018 - 04:22 pm - Link - Report abuse -1And why a crown? NATO's symbol is a compass, no?
They are too disciplined to be Argentine troops
May 31st, 2018 - 07:18 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Make no mistake - In spite of numerous comments to the contrary, president Macri knows the IMF will ask for deep austerity measures which, as usual, will impact the workers and the poor. This will stir significant resistance from the population, and the government is getting ready to quash any such resistance. The army may be sent to frontier areas to free gendarmeria forces, which are their main tool to repress popular demonstrations.
May 31st, 2018 - 08:04 pm - Link - Report abuse -1Cronie: you really seem to have time in your hands. Why don't you educate a bit so that you can submit comments with meaning?
They sure look like kurepi to me...
May 31st, 2018 - 08:12 pm - Link - Report abuse 0https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_Army#/media/File:Fuerza_de_Despliegue_R%C3%A1pido_del_Ej%C3%A9rcito_Argentino.jpg
It's about TIME!
Jun 01st, 2018 - 04:37 pm - Link - Report abuse -1It's been grossly unfair that the guardia should get all the drug and peso pilfering privileges for their selves.
Rg needs to adopt the mezcan model multi tiered model.
@EM. And the problem with making argies pay for their ill-gotten gains is? Let's not forget that argieland is, essentially, spain on a different landmass. Its brutal, murderous conquest is well-documented. It wasn't long ago that argieland proudly proclaimed that there were no indigenous people on its territory. A demonstrable lie, but it clarifies the mindset. There ARE indigenous people and a good start in correcting the situation would be to continue criminal legal actions against everyone connected with any Kirchnerite or Peronist regime, seize all their assets and distribute them to the indigenous people. From over here in the UK, my government's actions. Politicians have short memories. I don't. Until the day I die, I will NEVER acquire anything originating in argieland. I would rather starve.
Jun 02nd, 2018 - 12:25 pm - Link - Report abuse +1@Cq
Jun 02nd, 2018 - 06:17 pm - Link - Report abuse -1”And the problem with making argies pay for their ill-gotten gains is? Let's not forget (their) brutal, murderous conquest is well-documented.“
I totally acknowledge Spain's and Argentina's systematic extermination of the indigenous people on the territory. The same action continues today through the denial of rights to indigenous communities across Argentine. Argentina has accomplished a significant step with pursuing the criminals who massacred thousands of citizens in the 1970s. The day will come when the way huge expanses of land 'conquered' to natives was distributed to a handful of wealthy, well-connected families will be revised and partially undone.
Now, it seems to me you have a bit of a bias:
”...a good start in correcting the situation would be to continue criminal legal actions against everyone connected with any Kirchnerite or Peronist regime, seize all their assets and distribute them to the indigenous people.“
I am surprised you would want to limit the eventual confiscation to ”Kirchnerite or Peronist regime.”
What about the Grupo Benetton (Italia) with 900.000 hectares?
What about the Familia Menéndez (Arg.) with 750.000 hectares in Chubut, Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego and who also own La Anonima S.A.?
What about the Grupo Walbrook (U.K.) with 600.000 hectares?
Hey, there even is Lázaro Báez (Arg.) with 470.000 hectares in 25 estancias en Santa Cruz. Actually, those properties bought between 2008 and 2015 have been embargoed and Báez is in prison, accused of illicit association and money laundering.
Here, have some more reading:
http://federico-soria.blogspot.com/2017/09/listado-de-los-terratenientes-de-la.html
“Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and many other sovereign countries are using their Armed Forces in some way to control the activities of drug-traffickers, drug-guerrillas or Islamic militants”
Jun 02nd, 2018 - 11:08 pm - Link - Report abuse +1He should not be asking only whether other countries are doing this, but how well it is working. It would be foolish to copy a failed strategy.
@DT
Jun 03rd, 2018 - 12:48 am - Link - Report abuse -1I agree. Both drug consumption and the number of drug cartels have increased exponentially since the famous “war on drugs” was started by the U.S.
“The United States leads the world in both recreational drug usage and incarceration rates,” noted Wikipedia.
However, as I said in a previous post, the real objective is to reinforce the state's repressive capacity in anticipation of increasing social protest - especially when the IMF requires the Macri government to impose austerity measures.
Defense Ministry sources candidly acknowledged that in the above story:
“By putting the Army on the border we will be able to reposition a greater number of Border Guard officers on the streets and roads to strengthen daily security and stop common crimes...“
This is in agreement with the original motives to start the war on drugs:
”The Nixon campaign in 1968...had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people...We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin...we could disrupt those communities...arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.” (John Ehrlichman, to Harper's Magazine, 1994).
Coincidently, Argentine government officials have been linked with drug trafficking, such as Vicente López mayor Jorge Macri (Mauricio's cousin) as a result of a contract between the municipality and a company linked to the Urabeños drug cartel.
The house of Sergio Varisco, mayor of Parana for Cambiemos, was searched by police and was later summoned to testify about his potential links with Daniel Andrés Celis aka Tavi, who is in jail convicted of stealing and who was imputed as head of a narco trafficking gang.
@EM
Jun 03rd, 2018 - 05:41 pm - Link - Report abuse +1“Now, it seems to me that you have a bit of a bias.”
Let's see now. Who lies about “inheriting” certain Islands? “Inheritance” NEVER having been agreed as an “approved” method of territorial acquisition under ANY international law.
Who lies about having a “claim” to certain Islands? Such a “claim” having been refuted many times on this very board.
Who lies about “settlers” on certain Islands being evicted “by force”? When the evidence shows that an illegal military garrison were asked to leave and only four civilians left voluntarily and by choice.
Who lies about “constant claims”? When the evidence shows that a vice-president admitted at one time that the only outstanding matter of contention was compensation that his country owed.
Who lies about its close links to Nazi Germany? As demonstrated by the Hitler-encouraged claims to another country's territory and sheltering of war criminals.
Who lies about other territorial “claims”? When it encroaches on territory already claimed.
Who lies about its illegal activities? Such as sending a collaborator to ask another country for permission to set up a business on its territory and the declaring hime to be “the commandant”, landing its agents and military on another country's territory.
Who lies to attempt to justify an unprovoked, illegal attack, invasion and occupation of the homeland of innocent civilians? Not forgetting the killing of 255 members of a sovereign state's armed forces sent to evict the cowardly invaders.
Who continues to lie about 40 UN General Assembly resolutions? That have no relevance.
Who continues to lie to waste the time of the international community?
The answer to all these questions and examples is one word. Want to take a crack at it?
Why would I have any bias?
@EM
Jun 03rd, 2018 - 10:16 pm - Link - Report abuse -1I was assuming the police freed up from the border would be used to tackle drug crimes and gangs within the country. Crime has risen in Argentina hasn't it?
Maybe all those countries should just get together and agree to end the war on drugs, since the drugs are clearly winning. The US ought to know better than anyone that prohibition doesn't work.
@Conq
Just possibly, someone who has read the following might think you were the tiniest bit biased:
“The problem is that argies are congenitally childish, ignorant and stupid.”
”Teach argies to tell the truth. Finance suitable persuasive methods. Baseball and cricket bats. Live grenades dropped into underpants. Impalement. Lashes until the spine is exposed and cut. Reverse-xenophobia. Everyone spits (at least) on argies. Any argie can be killed anywhere, anytime. Open season. Sorry. Hunting season!“
”Bubonic plague to every argie settlement with a population exceeding 500,000. Ebola for everywhere else. Foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever and psittacosis for the animals. Herbicides for all crops. Argieland = wasteland.”
@DT
Jun 04th, 2018 - 05:49 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The Cambiemos front made a lot of political hay over “insecurity” before taking office in December 2015.
Since then, insecurity has increased, with at least one police chief mentioning worsening economic and social conditions as one factor.
Happy trigger police killings are on the increase, especially since president Mauricio Macri (I feel shame to say it here) personally met, congratulated and supported a police agent who shot and killed, from behind, a fleeing suspected robber.
On the Conq matter, good for you for exposing his above incredibly revolting comment. Really sad. Obviously, the writing is on the wall--and it shows way more about the writer than it does about his intended target.
Unfortunately that sort of comment is not unusual for Conq. I wish he was from some other country. :(
Jun 04th, 2018 - 09:29 pm - Link - Report abuse 0That the worsening economic and social conditions would increase crime is unfortunate but hardly surprising. The naive solution is more police or to have the police use more force, but it's rarely the answer (an exception might be here in the UK, where the government has severely cut the number of police over the last 10 years). Those economic and social issues usually make a bigger difference, and dealing with gangs requires an intelligent strategy, not brute force.
@DT
Jun 05th, 2018 - 07:04 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I couldn't agree more. Your sensible thoughts are a breeze of fresh air in MP's comments section.
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