The governor and deputy governor of the Province of Santa Fe, Maximiliano Pullaro and Gisela Scaglia, participated on Tuesday in Avellaneda in the destruction by incineration of 300 kilograms of marijuana, 16 kilograms of cocaine and more than 3,000 cartons of cigarettes seized in more than 30 court cases for violations of the Narcotics Law and the Customs Code.
These cases were the result of various investigations and prevention efforts carried out by different security forces before the Federal Court of Reconquista, presided over by Dr Aldo Mario Alurralde.
During the event, Pullaro stated: "We are at a turning point in the country, where we have experienced moments of extreme violence." Referring to the triple murder of three young people in the province of Buenos Aires over a boat plot, the governor said that "this time it did not happen in our province, but on several occasions we have had incidents of this severity or greater, involving drug trafficking, micro-trafficking and the illegal sale and entry of drugs".
Pullaro explained that "in Argentina, for a long time, there was an ideology that became a legal theory that placed criminals in the role of victims. That same ideology placed the security forces in the role of the bad guys and sought to make them the perpetrators in every action they took. They made us believe that drugs do not harm human beings, and we have studied the damage they cause extensively. It is very difficult to say this, but we have to do so in order to live in a different society".
Santa Fe Experience
Pullaro then referred to the experience in the province of Santa Fe, "where criminal organisations seemed to have taken over the streets. With Gisela Scaglia, we demonstrated that in 22 months of government, with a lot of effort, drug trafficking can be defeated. It is not easy, but the fact that in the city of Rosario and in the province of Santa Fe, violence rates have fallen by 65% from one year to the next and property crime has also fallen by 70% shows that with the same tools, something could be done".
"We must not allow this to reign again in the Argentine Republic. If we can do it in Santa Fe, it means that there is still a chance for the country to leave this scourge behind. Drug trafficking has not defeated us; there was a foolish government that took a guarantee-based approach to public policy and criminals. That brought us a lot of pain and bloodshed. Let's make sure that never happens again and continue to work steadfastly and together in the fight against this scourge," concluded the governor.
Coordinated work
Meanwhile, the mayor of Avellaneda, Gonzalo Braidot, thanked the authorities "for their commitment to this inter-institutional cause. This is a clear message that shows that by working together we can combat the great scourge that is drugs." Also participating in the event were the Minister of Labour, Security and Employment, Roald Báscolo; the senator for the General Obligado department, Orfilio Marcón; the deputy Dionisio Scarpín; the mayor of Reconquista, Amadeo Enrique Vallejos; the Secretary of Institutional Management of the Ministry of Justice and Security, Virginia Coudannes; and the president of the Avellaneda Ltda. Public, Social and Housing Services Cooperative, Alfredo Marchetti; among other provincial and municipal authorities.
