Data recovery, power offers and cross-charges: the internal government for border control

Retaceos in the information, cross-accusations, smugglers who escape, drug traffickers in the line of sight, alerts that do not occur and historical concerns. A whole slew of bids on power is taking place these days within the government around the borders and with the ministries of security, interior, defense and customs as well. central actors.

In a very secret but very internal way, the internal struggles have increased recently because of the president's strategy Mauricio Macri Strengthen border protection, particularly with regard to the security forces, immigration officers, customs and military controls in the northern region of Argentina.

Each of the actors at play raises their defense and their particular positioning. But it is clearly perceived an offer without immediate return. According to the consultations that he made Infobae both in the portfolio of Patricia Bullrich through the ministries of Rogelio Frigerio and Oscar Aguadthere were cross-questions and billing cards, although publicly deny it.

"Everything happens to them and we have to tackle the criminals", a source of security in open challenge to the Migration Directorate and the portfolio that drives Frigerio.

Bullrich also questions the Ministry of Defense as it does not give firmer instructions to the 500 army soldiers badigned to the northern border, so it's more common to report moves smuggling or drug trafficking. "Since the operation" Northern Border "began to add army logistics support to the security forces, there have been virtually no reports of soldiers on strange movements or of smuggling"said a source close to the minister.

On the contrary, at the Ministry of Defense warn that army soldiers are performing a "perfect" task of logistical support at the northern border and claim that there is a strong presence of soldiers that produce a "chilling effect" before the entry of narcos or smugglers on the border with Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil.

As you may have known InfobaeMinister Aguad said a few days ago that complaints from the Ministry of Security at the military were "unfair" and told Bullrich that he was unhappy with these accusations.

At the same time, the Ministry of Defense states that the Homeland Security Act sets a clear limit to military actions at the border and inland. "We do not send our soldiers confiscate the goods of the smugglers because it is not the function of the army, there is a general confusion and many do not understand that the armed forces should be limited only by the law to deterrence or logistical support to the gendarmerie and the prefecture ", commented an official of Aguad.

In the case of Minister of the Interior, the answers to Bullrich's accusations about the presence of so-called "lax" controls are well-defined: they claim that there is a leak of sensitive data from the security side and that it is not safe. There is not enough cooperation between the gendarmerie and migration agents.

At the same time, from Frigerio's portfolio, they expressed Infobae a concrete answer to this tough application of powers that sees in the government. "Migrations do their job well, incorporating technology, training their staff, signing international agreements that allow us to access the same regulations as the serious and developed countries, all in four years of management," said the minister. .

From the Ministry of the Interior, they said that in the specific case of the Iranians who entered with false documents, it was decided to dismiss the officials involved and summarize them. TheThe same thing happened in the Samid case, where a Clorinda migration official was fired and an internal investigation was conducted. on the possible use of an apocryphal seal of migrations that would have guaranteed the entry of the meat business in Belize.

On the other side, inside, they tried to tone down the tone of the conflict and stressed that "relations with Bullrich and his team at the border are very good". "Rogelio and Patricia have a permanent dialogue, working together and respecting, there is no crossing on the part of Migrations, but on the contrary," he said yesterday. Infobae a close friend of the Minister of the Interior to try to ban any kind of internal government. It does not seem the same in the concrete facts and in the daily work.

Another sample of powers of the border authorities crystallized a month ago when Bullrich was stoned in Salta by a group of Bagayeros opposed to the simplified import regime for the border area. This resolution, which bears the signature of Bullrich, the Minister of Production and Labor, Dante Sica, and the head of the AFIP, Leandro Cuccioli, established that importers who cross goods from Bolivia by the Through international pbades from Puerto Chalanas – this is what the so-called crossing in the city of Bermejo and Aguas Blancas will be able to perform a daily operation with a cap of 500 dollars of goods. In addition, the measure requires that the Bagayeros be compulsorily entered in a register and pay taxes.

Some official offices believe that this proposal has not worked and that more illegal measures have been taken. There were also warnings about the need for customs officers to be more rigid in controls.

In addition, SUPARA, the union that brings together Argentine customs personnel, warned of the serious vulnerability of the pbadage of Aguas Blancas, in the department of Oran, on the border with Bolivia. In addition, it is widely accepted that contraband controls should weigh heavily on security forces.