🇦🇷 Argentina unveils ‘new’ police force

Milei approves federal police reform by decree, drug tunnel connects Mexico and the US, military critic of Ortega assassinated in Costa Rica, and more.

Jun 21, 2025

Hello,

This week, the Argentine political scene was shaken by a drastic reform of the Argentine Federal Police (PFA), pushed through by presidential decree and generating a wave of criticism.

On Tuesday, at an event alongside his Security Minister, Patricia Bullrich, Javier Milei said that the aim of the PFA reform was to “convert it into a force primarily dedicated to criminal investigation and complex crimes,” such as dismantling criminal organisations.

This includes the creation of the Federal Investigation Department (DFI), inspired by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

In theory, the change seeks to give the force a new profile – a task pending since 2016, when the Buenos Aires city police force was created, a space previously occupied by the PFA.

In practice, the decree has given the force new powers, including the ability to detain people for up to ten hours without a warrant and to carry out crime “prevention” through cyber espionage of what it calls “digital public spaces” without obtaining permission from the courts.

Security analysts, while agreeing that the PFA needed changes, criticised the new powers and the way in which they were approved.

“The reform of the PFA by decree avoids a discussion as important as the change in objectives, functions, missions and the very approach to security that this police force should have”, explained the Centre for Legal and Social Studies, one of Argentina's leading human rights organisations.

“The lack of clarity in many of the amendments opens the door to the criminalisation of social organisations, the repression of protests, the mass cyber-surveillance of opponents and other interventions without judicial control,” reads a statement from the organisation, which has already filed an injunction against the reform.

Sabina Frederic, an anthropologist and former security minister,said in an article published in Tiempo Argentino that the decree is a “blank cheque” and does not address urgent issues related to the way resources are managed, which impacts, among other things, the low salaries of personnel.

CAPSULES

🇲🇽 Tunnel. On Thursday, the Mexican government discovered a 600-metre tunnel connecting the cities of Tijuana, in Mexico, and San Diego in the United States. The tunnel, which was more than 13 metres underground and had a sophisticated structure with pipes, pulleys, lights and a ventilation system, was used to transport drugs, including methamphetamine, said Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch. These types of tunnels are not new. In fact, since 1993, 95 have been dismantled, according to data from US border authorities. (La Jornada, Al-Jazeera, X)

🇳🇮 Fear. The murder on Thursday of a recently retired Nicaraguan military officer in Costa Rica has caused alarm among the exiled community. Roberto Samcam Ruiz was shot dead at the door of his home on Thursday in a residential area in the northeast of San José, the capital of Costa Rica, Divergentes reported. His wife said the attacker entered the building pretending to be a tenant. Samcam was an outspoken critic of the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, particularly the military structures that support their hold on power. This is not the first attack on the Nicaraguan exile community in Costa Rica. In fact, 59% of people interviewed for a report by the Sin Límites Foundation said they had been victims of threats, surveillance and assassination attempts. (Divergentes, El País, AP)

🇨🇴 Violence. Violence in Colombia has increased in the first quarter of the year, according to a new report by the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation (Pares) published on Wednesday that analyses the current state of the dialogue processes in the country. The report highlights that, despite nine active peace processes with armed groups, violent actions increased by 45% during the first three months of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. According to the document, the violence that mainly affects civilian populations includes homicides, forced displacement, confinement, disappearances and sexual violence.