Three Brazilians were arrested on the border with Argentina and the police are investigating a possible connection with the CV (Comando Vermelho).
The arrest took place on Friday afternoon (31), in the city of Alba Posse, in the province of Misiones, which borders the municipality of Porto Mauá, in Rio Grande do Sul.
The Misiones police said in a statement that the men entered Argentine territory illegally.
“The provincial police force is trying to determine whether they have links to a drug trafficking faction,” police said. The local press pointed out that the organization in question is Comando Vermelho
The detainees were identified by authorities as Ednei Carlos DS, aged 25, Luis Eduardo T. de S., aged 23, and Jackson S. de J., aged 35.
Authorities said they are residents of Rio das Ostras, in Rio de Janeiro, and “did not have valid immigration documents nor could they justify their presence in the region” at the time of the approach.
“According to the police officers responsible for the operation, two of the men have a record for drug trafficking in their country of origin, and the third has a record for assault,” the police reported.
“This prompted the immediate activation of international cooperation protocols to check whether there are outstanding international arrest warrants against them. Authorities are also investigating whether they have connections in the region, among other necessary information,” the statement added.
Police said they were in contact with Brazil’s Military and Civil Police and “until official information is received, the three men will remain in custody.”
Argentina activated alert on the border with Brazil after operation in Rio
The Argentine Ministry of Security announced the activation, on Wednesday (29),
“I will determine a maximum alert at the borders so that there is no type of passage of those who must be changing places, [saindo] of the centrality of the conflict in Rio”, said minister Patricia Bullrich when answering a question from a reporter from CNN Radio Argentina at Casa Rosada.
According to her, the alert “means looking carefully at all Brazilians” who enter Argentina, checking travelers’ backgrounds. “Of course, not confusing tourists with members [de organizações criminosas]”, he clarified.
Bullrich specifically mentioned controls in the Triple Border with Brazil and Paraguay. She said, however, that no more security forces will be sent to the region.
After the announcement, the Argentine minister published the order she gave to the National Security Secretariat for greater controls to be implemented.
“We reinforce the borders to protect Argentines in the face of any ‘stampede’ that may be generated by the conflicts in Rio de Janeiro. The security of our country, always first,” he wrote on social media.
In the document, she requests that “in the context of the episodes that occurred on Tuesday, October 28 of this year in the City of Rio de Janeiro” instructions be followed to reinforce operations in the eastern and northwestern border areas of the country.
“This alert constitutes a preventive measure derived from the theory of the ‘stampede’ that could happen. Send the agents positioned at the border the manual for recognizing signs that characterize these narco-terrorist groups to facilitate possible identifications for the forces”, says the text.
Bullrich also requests that contacts be activated with the Brazilian and Paraguayan police forces for a joint task to guarantee the exchange of information and operational capabilities.
On Tuesday (28), Bullrich stated that the country’s Repet (Registry of People and Entities Linked to Acts of Terrorism) is not registered.
“Argentina declared these two organizations as narco-terrorists,” said Bullrich in an interview with the channel La Nación +, after the police operation against the Red Command in Rio de Janeiro, which left more than 100 people dead.
According to the minister, there are 39 Brazilians in Argentine prisons, of which five are from Comando Vermelho and “seven or eight” from the PCC.
“They are very isolated from each other so they don’t have any kind of power,” he assured.
Bullrich explained that there is “very strict” control over inmates from both factions, identified through tattoos and initiation rites in prisons.
