Hooded individuals, identified by the government as a drug trafficking gang, published a video on Sunday threatening Security Minister Patricia Bullrich and Santa Fe Governor Maximiliano Pullaro — and saying they would bring the violence that has plagued Rosario to Buenos Aires.

Rosario, in Santa Fe, is a port city that has long seen significantly higher rates of murder and other violent crime than the rest of the country. The bloodshed is largely linked to organized crime and the drug trade in the city. In recent months, the slayings had slowed notably, which the security ministry and local authorities have been quick to attribute to their iron-fisted security policy. 

Then, in November, two leaders of violent football gangs known as barrabravas were murdered after a Rosario Central match, sparking fears that the peace could be over.

In the video, which lasts for one minute, four figures face the camera. Three are clad in white bodysuits, the fourth is in black. Their faces are covered. All are carrying heavy-caliber arms.

The man asks Bullrich and Pullaro what arrangements they made to cool down the violence in Rosario, accusing them of having innocent people killed and operating a gang of their own. He then asks them to stop children from falling into crime by creating jobs and schools, before leaving a threat: “We’re present here in Buenos Aires. We’re going to start leaving people dead here.” 

Bullrich said on Monday morning that the gang that filmed the video could be connected to organized crime groups in Buenos Aires Province, adding that the high-risk sections of Ezeiza and Marcos Paz prisons had been receiving members of these groups.

“Since last night, teams have been working to identify the location where the video was filmed,” she told television channel TN.

She added that the video was not emailed to the authorities, but rather uploaded to social networks.

Pullaro had not commented publicly at the time of writing.

Late Sunday night, the Presidency’s communications office confirmed that the Security Ministry and the Santa Fe Province governor’s office had received the video, adding that the gang that recorded the video had not yet been identified. 

The presidency described the video in a statement as “a clear terrorist threat that seeks to sow terror in the population and the democratically-elected authorities.” It added that the government is working with all the competent authorities to find the makers of the video.

“Our message to these organizations is this: make no mistake, with us you’ll never have your way. In the New Argentina there’s no space for armed violence. if you proceed, you will be met with the full force of the law.”

Caught in the crossfire

Violence in Rosario had been growing increasingly indiscriminate. In March 2023, a 12-year-old boy was killed and three other children, including a two-year-old girl, were injured after they were caught in gang crossfire while leaving a birthday party. In September of that year, a high school student in a group going to Córdoba on a school trip was shot in the leg outside a gas station.

In March, the situation in Rosario reached breaking point after four people with no apparent ties to organized crime were murdered in attacks that were linked to drug trafficking gangs. The killings came after authorities released photos of prisoners being forced to sit topless on the floor, tightly packed one behind the other during a raid. The killings halted most activity in Rosario, with many people staying at home for fear of the violence. 

The move, which emulated the harsh and controversial anti-crime tactics of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, was criticized by Bukele’s Security Minister, Clarín newspaper reported.  “You can only do it when the gangs are neutralized and you have total control of the street,” the minister said to Bullrich’s team.

However, violence subsided in the subsequent months, prompting the authorities to claim a victory for their policies.