Argentina ARGENTINA

Region: Americas
National Central Bureau: Buenos Aires
Member since: 12 June 1947
How INTERPOL supports Argentina to tackle international crime.

Tackling organized crime in Argentina

Latin American criminal organizations are increasingly operating their global activities from the largest and most cosmopolitan cities. Buenos Aires is the region’s second largest city with easy sea, land and air access to North American, European and African markets – both legal and illicit.

Argentina’s 5,000 km of coastline and its many ports linking the Atlantic Ocean with drug-producing countries across South America make it an attractive transit country for illicit shipments.

One of South America’s key transit and launching points for Andean drugs headed across the Atlantic, Argentina’s flourishing chemical industry also makes it attractive to the precursor black market. Other drug-related crime areas affecting Argentina are money-laundering, people smuggling and trafficking in firearms.

INTERPOL in Argentina

INTERPOL’s National Central Bureaus (NCB) in Buenos Aires plays a crucial role in tackling the global aspect of criminal trafficking, helping to maintain national and regional security.

NCB Buenos Aires is part of the national police force, the Policía Federal Argentina (PFA) and sits in the International Coordination Directorate. The NCB is the PFA’s operational police platform for sharing and receiving global data related to Argentina’s priority crime areas. These include fugitive investigations, organized crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking and terrorism.

Staffed by almost 300 police officers, NCB Buenos Aires provides a 24-hour service to national law enforcement. It regularly takes part in INTERPOL-led regional and global police operations which address Argentina’s priority crime areas.

National law enforcement in Argentina

Law enforcement services in Argentina are provided by a combination of police forces. These include the PFA, airport security police, naval prefecture, Gendarmerie, provincial police forces and border control (National Migrations Office).

As part of the PFA, NCB Buenos Aires is under the command of Argentina’s Ministry of Security.

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