Argentina will host new US regional unit to fight drug trafficking

The United States created a regional unit based in Argentina to fight drug trafficking and organized crime, Argentine Security Minister Alejandra Monteoliva announced Monday.

The unit falls under the purview of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).

President Donald Trump’s administration approved a US$13.35 million fund to run it, 10 times the resources currently allocated to cooperation projects with Argentina.

“Argentina is a reliable country, and our allies know it,” Monteoliva said while announcing the project, which she said responds to the fact that Argentina and the U.S. are “strategic partners in the area of security.”

According to a statement from the Argentine Security Ministry, US$7.5 million of those funds will be used for “cooperation projects in Argentina,” while the rest will go toward funding initiatives for the region as a whole, including Argentina.

Argentina es un país confiable y nuestros aliados lo saben.

Con Estados Unidos somos socios estratégicos en seguridad. Por eso, una nueva unidad regional de @StateINL, la oficina del Departamento de Estado de EE.UU. especializada en narcotráfico y aplicación de la ley, tendrá…

— Alejandra Monteoliva (@AleMonteoliva) October 5, 2026 However, the ministry did not specify which countries the project will include or the limits of the region covered by the unit. It also did not mention which activities or projects will be carried out.

The statement said that the regional unit will “allow for the development of joint projects,” as well as the acquisition of equipment to “fortify operational capabilities in the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime.”

INL director for Argentina and Uruguay Adam Weise visited the facilities of the Argentine Naval Prefecture — a force similar to the U.S. Coast Guard — on Friday as part of the “technical cooperation activities” they share.

Weise attended presentations on the Naval Prefecture’s capabilities in maritime security, intelligence, and the use of technological tools for the prevention and detection of illicit activities.

Argentina and the United States The announcement comes as part of Argentina’s alignment with the United States under President Javier Milei, who has a good relationship with Trump. 

The two governments have collaborated on several security-related projects in recent years.

“Argentina and the United States have been deepening their security cooperation through information sharing, criminal intelligence, training, technical assistance, and joint operational efforts,” the Security Ministry said.

It added that cooperation between the two countries “has helped strengthen operations against organizations linked to drug trafficking and made progress in dismantling the routes used for drug trafficking.”

The collaboration stirred controversy in recent years after Milei suggested in 2024 that he wanted the U.S. to collaborate on the construction of a military base in Tierra del Fuego, at the tip of the continent, to allow easier access to Antarctica. 

The comment was made during a visit by then-U.S. Southern Command chief Laura Richardson to the site of the planned base, construction of which began in 2022 but has remained stalled at an early stage, with less than 10% completed, since Milei took office in late 2023 and halted public works.

Amid recent growing tensions between Argentina and the United Kingdom over sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands in the South Atlantic, Milei said in September he wanted to complete the base. 

However, he has not mentioned the involvement of other countries in the initiative, and works have not began.

Editorial disclaimer: Although the UK refers to the Malvinas territory as the “Falklands Islands,” Argentina strongly contests this name. The Buenos Aires Herald refers to the islands as the Malvinas Islands.