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The Argentine Federal Police ( es, Policía Federal Argentina or PFA) is the national civil
police force The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
of the Argentine federal government. The PFA has detachments throughout the country. Until January 1, 2017, it also acted as the local law enforcement agency in the capital,
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
.


History

The history of this police force can be traced to 1580, when the founder of Buenos Aires, Captain Juan de Garay, established a local militia for defense against potential Native American raids. The ''Policía de Buenos Aires'' (Buenos Aires Police) operated for the first three hundred years up to 1880, when the Federalization of Buenos Aires resulted in the creation of the ''Policía de la Capital'' (Police of the Capital). Incidents of social unrest in subsequent years helped prompt the Fraga Law in 1904, which provided for the inclusion of neighborhood representatives as
commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
s in their respective precincts. The failed
Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...
, by which the UCR sought to bring about reforms to the undemocratic
electoral system An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections m ...
, led to the appointment of a conservative congressman, retired Col.
Ramón Falcón Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramon (footballer, born 1998), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (singer), Spanish singer who represented Spain in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest ...
, to the post of chief of police; Falcón's repressive tenure ended with his 1909 assassination. The current entity resulted from an initiative by the chief of police, Col. Emilio Ramírez, assisted by LTCOL Enrique Fentanes. A panel convened by the police chief presented its findings to support the establishment of the Federal Police on November 8, 1943, and on December 24, Decree 17.750 was signed by President Pedro Pablo Ramírez (the father of the chief of police). The new force did not immediately replace the Capital Police, but was instead transferred duties under the latter's purview incrementally. The first important such transfer was the February 7, 1944, assignment as the Presidential Guard of the Casa Rosada, and on March 10, the process of unifying the two forces was initiated by decree, concluding officially on January 1, 1945. The Federal Police changed slowly in its organizational structure in subsequent decades. Initially maintaining 45 precincts, it added five in 1946, two in 1976, and a 53rd in 1999. Its subordinate role to the national executive increasingly made the force a political instrument during the country's often authoritarian regimes. General Juan Carlos Onganía, president after a 1966 coup, named a Federal Police director, Luis Margaride, who shared his distaste for modern culture, resulting in crusades against nightclubs, long hair, and miniskirts.Andersen, Martin. ''Dossier Secreto''. Westview Press, 1993. Facing a government policy backdrop such as this, numerous avant-garde artists (and others, particularly in academia) left Argentina, many never to return. The return of exiled President
Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army general and politician. After serving in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President of a military dictatorship, he was elected ...
in 1973 resulted in conflict with the PFA, when the calculating populist had Alberto Villar named as chief at the behest of adviser
José López Rega José López Rega (17 November 1916 – 9 June 1989) was an Argentine politician who served as Minister of Social Welfare from 1973 to 1975, first under Juan Perón and continuing under Isabel Perón, Juan Perón's third wife and presidential ...
. Villar was a member of López Rega's newly organized
paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
group, the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance, and Villar's participation in spiraling violence between the group and those on the far left led to his assassination in 1974. The institution's prestige was further damaged following the
March 1976 coup March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...
, when the force participated in the abduction, torture and murder of thousands of dissidents and others. It was only with the 1983 presidential elections (and the return to democratic rule) that the FP began restoring its prestige and its relations with the Argentine people, especially with the 1986 appointment of Juan Angel Pirker as police commissioner general. The 1993
Olivos Pact The Olivos Pact ( es, Pacto de Olivos) refers to a series of documents signed on November 17, 1993, between the governing President of Argentina, Carlos Menem, and former President and leader of the opposition UCR, Raúl Alfonsín, that formed th ...
between President
Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. He ...
and his predecessor, UCR leader Raúl Alfonsín resulted in the
1994 reform of the Argentine Constitution The 1994 amendment to the Constitution of Argentina was approved on 22 August 1994 by a Constitutional Assembly that met in the twin cities of Santa Fe and Paraná. The calling for elections for the Constitutional Convention and the main issues t ...
, whose article 129 granted the City of Buenos Aires greater self-governance. This in principle included the transfer of control of the 25,000-strong Federal Police to the ''Jefe de Gobierno'' (elected Mayor), and the
Buenos Aires City Legislature The Buenos Aires City Legislature ( es, Legislatura de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, links=no, commonly known as the ) is a central part of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is housed in the Legislature Palace ( es ...
. Shortly before the historic, June 30, 1996, elections to these posts, however, a senior
Peronist Peronism, also called justicialism,. The Justicialist Party is the main Peronist party in Argentina, it derives its name from the concept of social justice., name=, group= is an Argentine political movement based on the ideas and legacy of A ...
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
,
Antonio Cafiero Antonio Francisco Cafiero (12 September 1922 – 13 October 2014) was an Argentine Justicialist Party politician. Cafiero held a number of important posts throughout his career, including, most notably, the governorship of Buenos Aires Province f ...
, succeeded in limiting the city's autonomy by advancing National Law 24.588, which reserved control of the force, among other faculties, to the national government. The controversial bill, signed in 1996 by President Menem, remained a sticking point between successive Presidents (most of whom have been Peronist) and Buenos Aires Mayors (none of whom have been). A 2005 agreement on principles between Mayor
Aníbal Ibarra Aníbal Ibarra (born March 1, 1958) is an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Buenos Aires. Biography Ibarra was born in Lomas de Zamora, a district located in the southern region of Greater Buenos Aires. His father was a ...
and President Néstor Kirchner was followed by the modification of the especially contentious article 7, which denied the city its own, local police force, in 2007 - though the "Cafiero Law" otherwise remains in force. Efforts since 2007 by Mayor Mauricio Macri to declare it unconstitutional have thus far failed, and though the Mayor inaugurated a Metropolitan Police, issues of revenue sharing for its financing remain pending.''Parlamentario'': Piden que declaren inconstitucional la ley Cafiero
/ref> The PFA, since 1974, maintains a
university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
specializing in
criminology Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and s ...
, is associated with
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cr ...
, and participates in special forces training programs at the
Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-lar ...
. In January 2017, most of the Federal Police agents serving in the city of
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
were transferred to a new local law enforcement agency, the
Buenos Aires City Police The Buenos Aires City Police (In Spanish: Policía de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires) is the police force under the authority of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. It started to operate in 2017 following the merger of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Pol ...
. The new agency took over the local policing responsibilities in the capital city.


General organization

The PFA is subordinate to the Ministry of Security. The organization is headed by the Chief of the PFA, the ''Comisario General'' Juan Carlos Hernández, assisted by the Deputy Chief of the PFA, ''Comisario General'' Osvaldo Mato. The PFA's headquarters, known as the , is located at 1650 Moreno Street, in the
Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with roughly of coastline. It is n ...
section of Buenos Aires. The over 12,000 m2 (128,000 ft²) resulted from an 1868 proposal for its construction, which was ultimately approved in 1884. Designed by
Juan Antonio Buschiazzo Juan Antonio Buschiazzo (October 29, 1845May 13, 1917) was an Italian-born Argentine architect and engineer who contributed to the modernisation of Buenos Aires, Argentina in the 1880s and to the construction of the city of La Plata, the new capi ...
, and engineered by
Francesco Tamburini Francesco Tamburini (1846 in Ascoli Piceno, Italy – 1891 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) was an Italian-born architect who designed many important architectural landmarks in Argentina. He studied architecture in Italy and arrived in Argentina in ...
, the ornate headquarters is an eclectic structure with influences from
Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means ...
, and features a number of patios, notably the central,
Palm Tree The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm tr ...
Patio. Argentine Passports were issued to local residents at this location until 1996. The organization of the PFA is as follows: *Jefatura'' (General Headquarters) *''Subjefatura'' (Subheadquarters) *''Superintendencias'' (Superintendencies) ***''Superintendencia de Administración'' (Superintendency of Administration) ***''Superintendencia de Bienestar'' (Superintendency of Welfare) ***''Superintendencia Federal de Bomberos'' ( Federal Firefighting Superintendency) ***''Superintendencia de Investigaciones Federales'' (Superintendency of Federal Investigation) ***''Superintendencia de Planificación y Desarrollo'' (Superintendency of Planning and Development) ***''Superintendencia de Personal, Instrucción y Derechos Humanos'' (Superintendency of Personnel, Instruction and Human Rights) ***''Superintendencia de Policía Científica'' (Superintendency of Scientific Police) ***''Superintendencia Federal de Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicaciones'' (Federal Superintendency of Information Technologies and Communications) ***''Superintendencia de Interior y Delitos Federales Complejos'' (Superintendency of Interior and Federal Complex Crimes) ***''Superintendencia de Drogas Peligrosas'' (Superintendency of Dangerous Drugs) ***''Superintendencia de Asuntos Internos'' (Superintendency of Internal Affairs) ***''Superintendencia Federal de Transporte'' (Federal Superintendency of Transportation) **''Direcciones Generales Autónomas'' (General Autonomic Directorates) ***''Dirección General Autónoma de Asuntos Jurídicos'' (General Autonomic Directorate of Legal Affairs) ***''Dirección General Autónoma de Asuntos Internos'' (General Autonomic Directorate of Internal Affairs) Superintendencies are commanded by a ''superintendente'', a less common word in Spanish. Both ''superintendente'' and the much more common Spanish word ''comisario'' normally translate into English as superintendent, which creates some translation problems when discussing Argentine police services. Training for all serving agents of the service is done by the following institutions: *Federal Police Agentss and NCOs School "Don Enrique O'Gorman" *Federal Police Academy "Commissioner General Juan Angel Pirker" *Federal Police Staff College "Comisario General Enrique Fentanes" Aside from its former stations in Buenos Aires, it maintains provincial stations in select capital cities and several towns of the
Provinces of Argentina Argentina is subdivided into twenty-three federated states called provinces ( es, provincias, singular ''provincia'') and one called the autonomous city (''ciudad autónoma'') of Buenos Aires, which is the federal capital of the republic ( e ...
. The FFS also doubles as the state fire service as well.


Special forces


Federal Operations Special Group

The GEOF is a specialized police unit of the General Directorate of International Terrorism and Complex Crimes. Although the existence of
special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equi ...
in Argentina begins in 1930, the unit was officially created after the 1994 AMIA bombing. In 1994 its first section was established in Tucumán and in 1997 a second division was constituted in
Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most p ...
. In the next year the
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
group was formed.


Special Group One

The unit was established under the denomination of Special Combat Teams in 1978, when Argentina hosted the
Football World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...
. Ten years later, in 1988, the division changed its name to Police Operations Group and officially became the premier counter-terrorism team of the Federal Police.


Police ranks

Officer Ranks (in descending order) Sub-Officer Ranks (in descending order)


Equipment


Aircraft

The ''Dirección General de Aviación Federal'' is a unit of PFA agents, responsible for transportation policeman to anywhere in the country, besides the air support operations to the Federal Police. It has multipurpose aircraft for health functions, VIP transport, search, patrol, fire fighting, rescue and tactical operations. Its operational base is the heliport of Isla Demarchi (Heliport Dársena Sur). Its current fleet includes: *
MBB Bo 105 The Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 is a light, twin-engine, multi-purpose helicopter developed by Bölkow of Ottobrunn, West Germany. It was the first light twin-engine helicopter in the world, and the first rotorcraft that could perform ...
*
MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 The MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 is a twin-engined medium utility– transport helicopter. It was jointly developed and manufactured by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) of Germany and Kawasaki of Japan. MBB was later purchased by Daimler-Benz and even ...
*
Eurocopter EC135 The Eurocopter EC135 (now Airbus Helicopters H135) is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters (formerly known as Eurocopter). It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) and is outfitted wit ...
*
Eurocopter EC145 The Eurocopter EC145 (now Airbus Helicopters H145) is a twin-engine light utility helicopter developed and manufactured by Airbus Helicopters. Originally designated as the ''BK 117'', the H145 is based upon the MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 C1, which b ...
*
Cessna Citation I The Cessna 500 Citation I is a small business jet produced by Cessna, the basis of the Citation family. The Fanjet 500 prototype was announced in October 1968, first flew on September 15, 1969, and was certified as the 500 Citation on September ...
* Cessna 421


Vehicles

* Ford Focus * Ford Ranger * Chevrolet Classic *
Iveco Daily The Iveco Daily is a large light commercial van produced by the Italian automaker Iveco since 1978; it was also sold as the Fiat Daily by Fiat until 1983. Unlike the more car-like unibody Fiat Ducato, the Daily uses a separate ladder frame ty ...
*
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a light commercial vehicle (van) built by Mercedes-Benz Group AG of Stuttgart, Germany as a large van, chassis cab, minibus, and pickup truck. In the past, the Sprinter had been sold under the Mercedes-Benz, Dod ...
* BDX * Dongfeng Mengshi


Firearms

Pistols *
Bersa Thunder 9 The Thunder 9 is a full-size Semi-automatic self-loading pistol, semi-automatic handgun manufactured by Bersa at the Ramos Mejia production plant in Argentina. It is also sold under the name Firestorm or FS 9. Derivatives in other calibres inclu ...
* Glock 17 *
Beretta 92 The Beretta 92 (also Beretta 96 and Beretta 98) is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. The Beretta 92 was designed in 1975, and production began in 1976. Many variants in several different calibers ...
Submachine guns * FMK-3 * Heckler & Koch MP5 * Uzi * Halcón ML-63 Battle/Assault rifles * FN FAL * Heckler & Koch HK33 * SIG SG 552 Commando * IWI ACE Shotguns * Ithaca 37 *
Remington 870 The Remington Model 870 is a pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, LLC. It is widely used by the public for shooting sports, hunting and self-defense, as well as by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide. ...
Machine guns * FN Minimi * FN MAG * IWI Negev Sniper rifles *
M24 SWS The M24 Sniper Weapon System (SWS) or M24 is the military and police version of the Remington Model 700 rifle, ''M24'' being the model name assigned by the United States Army after adoption as their standard sniper rifle in 1988. The M24 is refe ...
* H-S Precision HTR * M110 SASS


See also

* Albatross Group * Scorpion Group * Hawk Special Operations Brigade * Federal Special Operations Group * Interior Security System * Law Enforcement in Argentina


References


External links

* {{Argentine government Government agencies established in 1943 Federal law enforcement agencies of Argentina 1943 establishments in Argentina