Brazilian narcocriminals target Argentina and Paraguay

Brazil’s First Capital Command (PCC), one of Latin America’s most important criminal groups, is extending its regional network, and Argentine authorities see a potential security risk for the country.

Following several criminal incidents in recent weeks, authorities from Argentina’s security forces have been meeting with their counterparts from Paraguay and Brazil to analyze signs of the Brazilian narcocriminal group’s actions on the borders between the countries.

The aircraft thefts that have been taking place in the province of Chaco, in the northeast of the country, on the border with Paraguay, have caught the attention of the police.

Last January 18, a Cessna light aircraft stolen from a Chaco aeroclub crashed shortly after in a field.

Its five crew members, presumably drug traffickers of Paraguayan nationality, died in the crash.

Shortly after the incident, according to La Nación, Chaco’s Security Minister Gloria Zalazar met with members of the Paraguayan police who had traveled to Argentina to assist in the investigation, which, according to La Nación, is believed to involve the PCC.

Argentine authorities believe that the PCC is behind the thefts of light aircraft, which have also occurred on the Paraguayan side of the border.

They also believe these aircraft are used to traffic cocaine from Bolivia to Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.

These planes “are very sought after by drug traffickers because they are light, have great autonomy and a fairly large load capacity,” Chaco’s attorney general, Jorge Canteros, told Clarín.

ARMS TRAFFICKING

In Buenos Aires, there have also been meetings with Brazilian security forces to analyze criminal actions on the binational border, in particular, the role of the PCC in the movement of high-powered weapons used for criminal attacks in Argentine territory.

The PCC has also deployed powerful weaponry in criminal actions in Paraguay, where they have used high caliiber anti-aircraft machine guns mounted on pickup trucks to carry out their attacks.

Arms trafficking is one of the many “transnational” crimes that worries Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay authorities.

La Nación reported that in the first days of January, a maneuver was discovered that sought to supply military weapons to the PCC coming from Paraguay.

The arsenal, camouflaged in sacks of rice, included pistols, shotguns, and rifles and was intercepted by the Brazilian police in Iporá, in Paraná (southwest), a few kilometers from the Paraguayan border.

In this context, the Argentine Security Ministry and the Brazilian Federal Police signed on January 24 a cooperation agreement on criminal intelligence for the “prevention and tackling of transnational illicit activities”.

With information from Sputnik