HomeNewsBriefArgentina Drug Investigation Inches Closer to Governing Party Mayor
BRIEF

Argentina Drug Investigation Inches Closer to Governing Party Mayor

ARGENTINA / 9 MAY 2018 BY MIKE LASUSA EN

A series of police raids in a strategically located town in Argentina seeking evidence of ties between drug traffickers and officials from the governing party shows the country's judiciary could be growing in independence, but this new autonomy could face resistance.

Argentine Federal Police on May 8 executed search warrants on the homes and offices of top municipal officials of the city of Paraná, the capital of the northeastern province of Entre Ríos, a key corridor for drugs entering Argentina from Paraguay.

According to local media accounts, the raids were seeking evidence of drug trafficking-related corruption on the part of local officials, including Mayor Sergio Varisco, who belongs to Argentina President Mauricio Macri's political party, known as Cambiemos.

In particular, authorities seem to be zeroing in on Varisco's connection to Daniel "Tavi" Celis, a local businessman currently imprisoned on assault charges whom authorities accuse of involvment in large-scale drug trafficking.

A local journalist had reportedly alleged links between the local government and drug trafficking groups in 2015, when Varisco became mayor of Paraná. In 2016, after being jailed for the assault, Celis published a message on Facebook describing himself as a "political prisoner" and threatening to tell "the whole truth about how [Varisco] came to be mayor of the city."

SEE ALSO: Coverage of Argentina

The investigation deepened in May 2017, when authorities intercepted a drug-laden airplane and arrested two men close to Celis, including his brother, Miguel Ángel "Titi" Celis. In a search of Miguel Ángel's home, authorities reportedly found a piece of paper with the names of Varisco and other officials listed next to different amounts of money.

Over the next several months, secretly recorded conversations emerged suggesting Celis had supported Varisco's 2015 bid for the mayorship and had contributed 100,000 Argentine pesos (roughly $4,400) to his campaign.

The mayor and other officials who are being investigated have denied any wrongdoing. Varisco even seemed to praise the probe into his alleged criminal ties, saying that it shows that "there is an independent judicial branch and that there is no interference from the political branch."

InSight Crime Analysis

The long-running investigation inching toward Varisco (who has not been formally charged with any crime) is a sign that Argentina's judiciary is developing the independence to go after powerful figures associated with the governing party. But in other cases in Latin America, increasing judicial independence has been met with strong pushback from entrenched elites.

SEE ALSO: InDepth Coverage of Elites and Organized Crime

To be sure, judicial authorities have also aggressively targeted opposition politicians suspected of drug trade-related corruption. But going after all sides risks uniting them. As has occurred in several recent instances in Central America, such an alliance could put up significant political resistance to well-intentioned efforts to root out graft.

The scandal swirling around a member of Macri's Cambiemos party could also spur the administration to pressure party colleagues to keep their noses clean, in order to reap the political rewards of Macri's much-trumpeted commitment to fighting graft while avoiding embarrassing insinuation of hypocrisy.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

ELITES AND CRIME / 3 NOV 2022

The trial of Genaro García Luna, Mexico's public security minister during the presidency of Felipe Calderón, is fast approaching.

CARTEL OF THE SUNS / 2 MAY 2022

In October 2021, the Venezuelan Ministry of the Interior issued an ordinary looking statement about an antinarcotics operation in the…

ARGENTINA / 12 AUG 2022

Uruguayan authorities have dismantled a smuggling ring moving weapons into the country from Argentina.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…