Argentina's government, with one eye on elections later in the year, is getting tough on crime, and one figure is taking centre stage: the country's security tsar. Patricia Bullrich, 62, the security minister, is pushing a series of new tough-on-crime measures, including dropping the age for juvenile convictions, equipping cops with stun guns and trialling facial recognition at train stations.
Who have been the most influential Argentines during 2018, is a traditional public opinion survey which Consultants Giacobbe & Associates have been releasing annually uninterruptedly since 1995. And this last year there were no big surprises: the main characters have been president Mauricio Macri and ex-president Cristina Fernandez.
A tough new ruling has come into effect in Argentina allowing federal security officers to appeal to lethal weapons when faced with criminal actions. Resolution 956/2018, signed by Security minister Patricia Bullrich says lethal weapons can be used when other non violent means are not effective.
After the controversy generated by a resolution in which the Ministry of Security of Argentina allows the police to use lethal weapons against a person who flees in the framework of the summit of the Group of 20 in Buenos Aires, the minister Patricia Bullrich went to clarify that this disposition “has nothing to do with the mobilization” against the G20 crowded by social organizations this Friday.
Argentina has launched a massive security operation to try to ensure a calm meeting of the leaders of the G20 bloc of nations in Buenos Aires, calling a national bank holiday on Friday and shutting down the city’s main business district.
Argentine authorities say that Buenos Aires will be an armored city when world leaders arrive for this week's G-20 summit. But security failures that marred a football championship and deeper unrest over an economic austerity program are raising concerns about the country's ability to ensure safety.
Buenos Aires was still shaking around noon Monday from the weekend's Libertadores Cup fiasco. President Mauricio Macri was publicly addressing the issue for the first time at a press conference escorted by Security Minister Patricia Bullrich and Justice Minister Germán Garavano. And with the spotlight there, the US dollar crept back up against the Argentine peso after a two-month nadir, closing at AR$ 39.9 per 1 US dollar at the end of the business day.
Argentine Security Minister Patricia Bullrich has warned Buenos Aires City residents that the staging of the G20 Leaders Summit at the turn of the month will make things very complicated in the City, telling residents they should use the long weekend to leave Buenos Aires for a few days.
Argentine officials said on Thursday they have arrested 12 presumed anarchists in connection with two homemade bomb attacks two weeks before world leaders gather in Buenos Aires for the Group of 20 summit.
Federal Police Thursday arrested in Buenos Aires two brothers suspected to belong to a local Hezbollah cell. A sizeable number of guns with focus on sniper capabilities and proper ammunition were found at the home of one of them in the Floresta neighbourhood.