MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine Coast Guard strengthens anti-drug trafficking forces in Rosario

The Toba was reassigned from Posadas to Rosario

A past river patrol boat from the Argentine Coast Guard was deployed from the port of Posadas in the northern province of Misiones to the Paraná River shores of Rosario in the province of Santa Fe to join the local anti-drug trafficking efforts, it was reported. The move was ordered by Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, it was explained.

The vessel Toba had been involved in tackling smuggling on the border with Paraguay. The unit was purchased in 2017 when Bullrich served as Security Minister under former President Mauricio Macri (2015-2019). She can reach a speed of 47 knots (75 kilometers per hour) and is armed with a 12.70 caliber heavy machine gun and two 7.12 caliber machine guns. The Toba is 25 meters long and has a beam of 6 meters

“This ship will be used to fight drug trafficking. This type of fleet is made up of 4 coast guards in total that are divided between Misiones and Corrientes. Now they sent us here to combat the problem and carry out different operations,” a Coast Guard chief was quoted by local media as saying.

Months ago and as drug trafficking escalated in Rosario, then-Security Minister Aníbal Fernández said the river units purchased by Bullrich were “a piece of junk, which do not navigate in the river or at sea.” He also likened them to “a book without a cover and without a page.” The four coastal patrol boats were bought from Israel for US$ 49 million.

Meanwhile, Santa Fe Governor Maximiliano Pullaro wrote on X that what was happening in Ecuador might be replicated in Rosario where druglords reign supreme, due to which he had his family relocated. Ecuador “should be a wake-up call for our country,” said Pullaro, who was Santa Fe Security Minister between 2015 and 2019. “We have to show the criminal organizations that the State is stronger,” he added. “If we do not act quickly, it will spread throughout the [Argentine] territory.”

He has been intimidated by drug gangs since he ordered a Bukele-style management of those convicted for drug trafficking in the province.