MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina, US sign agreement on security cooperation

Ambassador Stanley said the agreement was “an evolution of our cooperation and understanding”

Argentina's Economy Minister and presidential candidate Sergio Massa on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with US Ambassador Marc Stanley to strengthen security cooperation.

During the ceremony at the Kirchner Cultural Center in Buenos Aires, which was also attended by Security Minister Aníbal Fernández, Massa said that by 2024, the level of security information exchange with the United States “will reach its maximum expression in terms of automaticity in the tracking of criminal money.”

Therefore, “in no corner of Argentina will criminals feel at peace,” he added.

“Without the professionalism of our security forces, without mature relations and exchange of information between each of the forces, it is very difficult for international agencies to agree to advance in cooperation agreements,” Massa continued.

The agreement is “a great step that will serve Argentina for years to come,” the minister added. “If we do not have the capacity as States to take advantage of criminal intelligence to then pursue the money of crime, we end up validating the idea that the money of criminals ends up in the screens of professional companies or people who move that money and finance drug trafficking, terrorism, human trafficking and the mechanisms of organized crime that we all know,” he also pointed out.

That is why “it is so important that the work done by our security forces is accompanied by the different economic sectors with information capacity for criminal intelligence in terms of prosecution and money laundering,” Massa also stressed.

For Massa, it is a “key” point that “the Securities Commission, the Superintendence of the Central Bank, and the various control mechanisms of the financial entities give the tools to the security forces so that the follow-up is not only against the logistics of crime but also against the money of crime” and that “the articulation between agencies and between forces will allow us to consolidate this objective”.

The presidential candidate also said that the approval of the Money Laundering Law is a “pending” issue in the hands of the Argentine Congress.

Minister Fernández said this agreement was “the beginning of something very important.”

“Cooperation with the United States on security matters is also beneficial for the country at the operational level, because of the close ties we have with the various US agencies,” he added.

This situation “allows the four federal services to benefit from a great deal of experience and cooperation in their tasks of prevention and judicial support”.

The Minister highlighted the cooperation at the technical level “of anti-narcotics assistance” that “have been jointly designed”, citing “the project for the control of chemical precursors and new psychoactive substances or the action plan for the implementation of priority reforms in the framework of the program to combat money laundering”.

Ambassador Stanley pointed out that the agreement “is not only a commemoration” of 200 years of relations between Argentina and the United States, ”but an evolution of our cooperation and understanding.

Also Wednesday, Massa announced the suspension of export taxes on dairy products for 90 days to prevent local retail prices from skyrocketing a month before elections.