International
By water or land, the security forces shield Rosario against drug trafficking
Whether by water or by land, the hardest core of the Argentine federal forces, which the Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, promised a few days ago, is in Rosario equipped with state-of-the-art technology and armored vehicles to reinforce the fight against drug trafficking.
Drug violence, which has been present in the third largest city in Argentina for decades, has intensified in recent weeks with the random murder of citizens in retaliation for the measures of the governor of Santa Fe, Maximiliano Pullaro, to implement the ‘Bukele style’ in the prisons of his province.
Faced with the situation of insecurity, the Executive intervened with the creation of a crisis committee, which sent hundreds of troops from the Prefecture, Federal Police, Gendarmerie, Airport Police and even members of the Army and the Naval Navy to Rosario, working together within a unified command.
It is estimated that they reach a total of 2,000 uniformed personnel. Although sources from the Ministry of Security inform EFE that they are estimated figures and can be even more: in short, “how much should not be revealed.”
As a port city on the banks of the Paraná River, Rosario has the protection of the Argentine Naval Prefecture (PNA), which since last December patrols the waterway day and night with different boats, among which the ‘Toba’ coast guard stands out.
One of the four fast attack boats of the Sheldag class, of Israeli origin, transferred to Argentina in 2018 to protect the water borders of the coast and north of the country, has two static machine guns of 7.62 caliber on the sides of the bridge and a heavy of 12.7 in the bow, with space for 12 prefects.
With 25 meters of length, 6 meters of sleeve and 1.25 meters of drage it can reach 75 kilometers of speed; in addition, it has a rubber Zodiac for coastal approaches or shipments to other ships.
The chief officer of the PNA Damián Centurión, captain of the ‘Toba’, explains to the EFE team embarked on the ship to accompany a patrol that the most frequent crime on the coasts is the smuggling of narcotics.
“Our job is to control and suppress illicit activities in water such as smuggling. Mainly, we take care of the control of the waterways. Our stay here is indefinite. We know that there is a lot to do in Rosario,” he says.
The ship has “endured punishment,” since in the middle of a confrontation it endured bullets of 9 and 22 millimeter caliber without being penetrated
According to the captain, the ship has already “endured punishment”: in the middle of a confrontation, the naval aluminum withstored, without being penetrated, bullets of the caliber 9 and 22 millimeters.
They arrived in Rosario with the ‘Flag Plan’, installed shortly after Javier Milei assumed president, to strengthen security and, according to official data, the reduction in intentional homicides dropped to 47.83%.
In the first two months of 2024, the drug trafficker has carried out 24 murders, while the operatives managed to dismantle organized crime activities, in addition to seizing vehicles, weapons and mobile phones.
“At the moment, there was no worrying fact among our current patrol tasks that go from Rosario, Santa Fe, Arroyo Seco, San Lorenzo and wherever they require us. We are varying the schedules, but we are usually at night,” he adds.
For that work, the ‘Toba’ has thermal, night and daytime cameras with a range of 7 kilometers used to follow boats from a distance and automatically, thanks to its radar system.
The arrival of federal forces included their tactical groups, prepared to deal with anti-terrorist and drug trafficking situations: the special group of federal operations (GEOF) arrived on the streets of Rosario, which uses the ‘Mengshi’ (Chinese word for ‘brave soldier’) type CSK131.
It is a light armored vehicle of the four donated by China to Argentina and put into operation in 2018 for the G20 Summit, it has space for six men and is used to accompany police searches.
This Asian version of the famous HMMWV (‘Humvee’) accompanies checkpoints and checkpoints in the so-called ‘saturation operations’ – as EFE could verify -, which work in an intimidating way by controlling vehicles and in the surveillance of the most dangerous neighborhoods.
These operations begin at 5:00 p.m. (20:00 GMT) until 7:00 a.m. (10:00 GMT) the following day with the intention of preventing and mapping the criminal structure.
The ‘Mengshi’ can reach 135 kilometers per hour, withstand all kinds of calibers of firearms and explosive splinters of low and medium power; it can even be equipped with a heavy machine gun and even grenade launcher.
Although “narcoterrorism,” as the authorities call it, has long tentacles, the arrival of agents and heavy equipment for now shields Rosario against drug trafficking.
International
Seven bodies found with signs of torture in Sinaloa
Mexican authorities discovered seven lifeless bodies on Wednesday, showing clear signs of torture, in the rural area of Culiacán, Sinaloa, just one day after the same number of bodies was found in several municipalities in the western state of Mexico.
Six of these seven victims were found along the side of the highway that connects Culiacán to Mazatlán, near Laguna de Canachi, according to local media reports, which also noted that messages addressed to a criminal group were found near the bodies.
This brings the total number of violent deaths in the region to seven within just 24 hours. On Tuesday, authorities reported more victims found in the municipalities of Culiacán, Elota, and Mazatlán.
Among the victims identified was a local cattle rancher named Ramón Velázquez Ontiveros, as well as a police officer from Mazatlán, who was killed by a motorcyclist outside his home in San Marcos.
International
Málaga paralyzed by new storm as torrential rains hit Spain
Thousands of people were evacuated and trains were suspended as torrential rains once again struck Spain on Wednesday, following the devastating floods that killed at least 223 people two weeks ago, most of them in the Valencia region.
The national meteorological agency (Aemet) issued a maximum, red-level alert for the Andalusian province of Málaga in the south, and for Tarragona in the northeast, due to the new DANA (isolated depression at high levels), also known as a cold drop.
The city of Málaga appeared to be the hardest hit by the rains, with more than 3,000 people evacuated from 1,000 homes near rivers, flooded streets, and the suspension of urban transport and train services to Madrid.
“Today Málaga is paralyzed,” said Andalusia’s regional president, Juan Manuel Moreno, to reporters. “I know it is a problem for citizens not being able to take their children to school or go to work, but after what we saw in Valencia, we need to ‘prevent’ and minimize the impact in terms of loss of life,” he added.
The storm also led to the postponement of a match between Spain and Poland in the Billie Jean King Cup women’s tennis competition, which was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Málaga.
International
Hezbollah launches explosive drone strike on Israel’s defense headquarters
The Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah claimed on Wednesday that it launched an attack with explosive drones against the Israeli army’s headquarters in Tel Aviv.
The Iran-backed organization reported in a statement that it had carried out “an aerial attack with a squadron of explosive drones” targeting the site that houses Israel’s main defense institutions.
Hezbollah later stated that it also fired a barrage of rockets at the Glilot military intelligence base in the suburbs of Tel Aviv.
The Israeli military indicated that “sirens sounded in several areas of northern and central Israel following the launch of projectiles from Lebanon.”
It later clarified that “five projectiles were identified over the territory, and some were intercepted.”
Seven bodies found with signs of torture in Sinaloa
Málaga paralyzed by new storm as torrential rains hit Spain
Hezbollah launches explosive drone strike on Israel’s defense headquarters
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
-
Central America3 days agoBukele begins official visit to Costa Rica based on security, cooperation and trade
-
Central America2 days agoNicaraguan Naval Force seizes cocaine on Pacific Coast, suspects escape
-
Central America2 days agoEl Salvador delivers aid to Costa Rica amid severe flooding and red alerts
-
Central America2 days agoBukele urges Costa Rica to reform prison system amid rising crime rates
-
International2 days agoMarco Rubio considered for Secretary of State in Trump administration, reports say
-
International2 days agoSheinbaum pledges support for mexican migrants amid U.S. border enforcement plans
-
International3 days agoDaniel Ortega turns 79: 29 in power, 17 “governing from below”, and 7 in prison
-
International3 days agoLe procureur vénézuélien dénonce une campagne visant à présenter les “criminels” comme prisonniers politiques
-
International3 days agoLes migrants qui ont été retenus en Albanie par le gouvernement de Meloni arriveront ce soir en Italie
-
International4 days agoShooting at Tuskegee University leaves one dead and several injured
-
International2 days agoElon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to head Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency
-
International3 days agoA US flight to Haiti is deflected after being shot when approaching Port-au-Prince
-
International2 days agoPresident-elect Trump chooses Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense
-
International23 hours agoMálaga paralyzed by new storm as torrential rains hit Spain
-
Internacionales2 days agoMexico deploys 12,000 security agents to Guerrero amid escalating violence
-
International3 days agoIrish mobster Hutch is rending for general elections after arrest in Spain
-
International23 hours agoEcuadorian judge orders preventive detention for nine inmates after deadly prison clashes
-
International23 hours ago
Seven bodies found with signs of torture in Sinaloa
-
Internacionales4 days agoTropical storm Rafael weakens over gulf of Mexico after devastating Cuba
-
International23 hours agoHezbollah launches explosive drone strike on Israel’s defense headquarters
-
International3 days agoTrump appoints an ally without experience in the sector to the environmental agency
-
International23 hours agoTrump nominates Matt Gaetz as attorney general
-
International23 hours agoSantiago Uribe cleared of homicide and paramilitary charges
-
International3 days agoThe court of El Salvador postpones the preliminary hearing for the massacre of Jesuit parents in 1989
-
International23 hours agoMarco Rubio to become first latino U.S. diplomacy chief under Trump