MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina strengthens border controls targeting Brazilian gang members

Members of the Rio de Janeiro Police transfer a group of people during an operation on Tuesday. Antonio Lacerda/EFE/EFE

Argentine authorities have reinforced the country's borders with Brazil, in case gang fighters pushed by local law enforcement might intend to escape through any of those crossings, following the controversial raid earlier this week in two Rio favelas.

Troops have been deployed to the border area with Brazil, specifically in the province of Misiones, following an unprecedented surge in violence in Rio de Janeiro. The move is a direct response to fears that powerful Brazilian drug trafficking organizations, notably the Comando Vermelho (CV), may attempt to cross into Argentine territory.

Defense Minister Luis Petri confirmed the measure on Thursday, stating, “We are going to reinforce Operation Roca in Misiones.” He explained that the decision was driven by the “public and notorious events in Brazil,” which he described as involving “narco-terrorists with military firepower.”

“We are going to send Argentine Army control and surveillance teams to Misiones to reinforce the border with Brazil, which is very important to us. It is essential that the Armed Forces defend Argentines at the border,” Petri said.

The government's action follows the deadliest police operation in Brazil's recent history, conducted this week in the Alemao and Penha complexes in Rio de Janeiro. The offensive, targeting the Comando Vermelho—considered the most powerful criminal group in the state—resulted in around 120 deaths, including four police officers, and over a hundred arrests.

The deployment of 2,500 agents led to intense armed clashes and urban blockades, causing international repercussions and calls for investigation from human rights organizations.

In Argentina, attention is focused on the possible displacement of CV members across the porous border shared by Misiones, Brazil, and Paraguay. Among the fugitives is Edgar Alves Andrade, alias “Doca da Penha” or “Urso,” a key CV leader whose capture was a primary objective of the Brazilian operation. His current whereabouts are unknown.

The reinforcement of Operation Roca, an existing framework to combat transnational crime like smuggling and drug trafficking, will include ground surveillance equipment, drones, and Army vehicles. These efforts will be coordinated directly with the Border Patrol (Gendarmería Nacional) and the Security Ministry to intensify controls and patrols at border crossings and in mountainous areas.

Petri emphasized that the measure is a “preventive action and support for the security forces in defense of sovereignty and internal security at the borders,” not a “militarization.”

The deployment coincides with the release of a confidential government document confirming the presence of alleged members of Brazilian drug organizations within Argentina. The report signals the intentions of Brazilian organized crime, including the Comando Vermelho (CV) and the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), to expand their territorial dominance in the region.

The document mentions 28 individuals allegedly linked to Brazilian drug organizations in Argentina, 14 of them currently held in federal prisons, while the other 14 remain at large.

The PCC's expansion tactics reportedly involve an initiation ritual known as “baptism,” and the group's radicalization was detected within prisons in Santa Fe and Chaco.

The report also includes several detained individuals, including Adriano Giménez Morales and Jonathan Renato Gonçalves, both housed in the Candelaria Penal Colony, and notes that many identified members bear distinctive tattoos associated with the PCC and the Comando Vermelho factions. Their criminal records include drug trafficking, contract killing, and homicide.