Report reveals how the Brazilian PCC drug traffickers operate in Santiago del Estero in Argentina

A report presented a few hours ago confirms the arrival and strong advance of drug groups from Brazil in the province governed by Gerardo Zamora. In addition, it was detailed that there are several reasons for this type of situation to happen.

The report confirms that the First Capital Command (PCC) of Brazil, a drug criminal organization linked to Lula da Silva, is looking for different routes in the province administered by Gerardo Zamora.

This criminal group is the largest in Latin America, and its leaders called to vote for Lula da Silva’s candidates in the last elections.

The president of the IBI consultancy, specialized in international crime, Douglas Farah, explained that there is an important advance of Brazilian drug groups in Santiago del Estero, because there is a “low risk” that they will be imprisoned or detained.

In addition, he maintained that the fact that they use cash and the geographical location in which the province is located is highly strategic for having the exits to Chile and the Atlantic enabled.

“There is a convergence of different criminal groups in certain geographical spaces. And Santiago del Estero protects them politically”, explained the North American specialist in international security.

Farah stated that the issue is being analyzed, and stated: “we are studying the cases where there is a convergence of different criminal groups in certain specific geographic spaces and Santiago del Estero is one of them due to the system of political protection that various groups have and the link of Governor Gerardo Zamora with the structure of Vice President Fernández de Kirchner”.

The North American security specialist indicated that there is “a very close relationship between Senator Ledesma, the Vice President and Gerardo Zamora. What Cristina Kirchner has done is to create structures where she allows the autonomy of certain groups to act with impunity as long as they support her project”.

In turn, he said that he does not understand why the president of the province of Santiago supports the idea of the National Executive, of going against the Supreme Court. And if the decision comes from the side, that the head of the Court, had assured in Rosario, in the middle of the Summit of Judges, that he would quickly take care of judicially investigating drug trafficking.

The Security specialist stated that the report contains data related to drug trafficking and other types of contraband. And he took the opportunity to explain that this type of illegal action has a very significant impact at the regional level. Clarifying that “cocaine routes have changed dramatically in recent years.” He’s taking into account that “cocaine use in the United States has dropped more or less 50% in recent years. The new routes go to Europe, the former Soviet Union, Australia.

Farah is currently a consultant to the World Bank, the IMF and the US Department of State. And his role led him to investigate this issue, reaching the conclusion that “they are looking for new routes and both Argentina, Chile and Brazil have very large internal consumption markets where it is already profitable to sell within those markets with much less risk than going abroad”.

“It is impossible for drug trafficking to function without a fairly high level of official protection. These things can’t work just like that because everyone in Santiago del Estero knows what’s going on,” said the head of the IBI consulting firm specializing in international crime, adding that all the caudillismo controls justice, and keep an eye on the judges. A strategic action that stops judicial investigations.

The former journalist’s report is entitled “Santiago del Estero: convergence center for international crime”, and he himself confirmed that “there are other indicators that we mentioned such as football stadiums or airports totally out of context… All things where it is demonstrated that there is a much higher flow of money than the blank economy of Santiago del Estero would allow”.

“The use of cash is normally given when the financial transactions of drug trafficking or other sources of black money do not want to be traced. It is very difficult to trace when one pays in cash”, highlighted the specialist. And he recalled that in 2018, Governor Gerardo Zamora “withdrew US$30 million in cash from a bank to use. Cash is the easiest way for authorities to lose sight of how the money is spent.”

“It seems to us that the use of cash is another very strong indicator of fairly high protection and when there are safe spaces that is where criminals arrive”, said Douglas Farah, and completed: “That is why we talk about points of convergence. Venezuela is already a safe space for drug traffickers. They get there because they don’t have risk and that’s what they’re looking for”.

Finally, Farah said that “at the level of Santiago del Estero in the United States government, there is no in-depth knowledge of the new routes. There is a lot of concern about the drugs that leave Bolivia. Much concern about the emerging presence of the group called the First Command of the Capital of Brazil entering certain points in Santiago del Estero”.

“We have done a study some time ago about the PCC and the links it has in Uruguay, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay. It really is a transnational group. They can no longer be called gangs, they are already non-state armed actors at the regional level”, concluded the North American specialist in international security.

With information from La Derecha Diario