In the last 16 months, a total of 28 police officers from different security forces were murdered by criminals in Greater Buenos Aires. Of that number, only five officers died in the line of duty; the rest were victims of insecurity incidents, while the government of the ultra-Kirchnerist governor Axel Kicillof looks the other way and provides no answers.
Consulted by Infobae, prosecutors in the region explained that the increase in confrontations between thieves and plainclothes officers is mainly due to two factors: the rise in violence associated with problematic substance use and the greater circulation of illegal weapons in the black market.
Meanwhile, representatives of the Public Ministry pointed out that the low average age of criminals is another determining factor. "When revealing themselves as police officers, an armed confrontation is more likely. In most cases, it is the thieves who die," they explained.
Victims of Insecurity
The majority of the victims were attacked while heading to or returning from their jobs, either at bus stops or traveling by motorcycle. In turn, others were targeted by criminals dedicated to vehicle theft. There were also cases of officers who, to improve their income, worked as ride-share drivers and were robbed by criminals posing as passengers.
Within this latter group is Alexis Emanuel Cancino, murdered on February 6 in Ingeniero Budge, Lomas de Zamora. One of the arrested suspects is just 16 years old. Meanwhile, Daniela Fernanda Luna was shot in September 2024, when a supposed passenger stole her cellphone in Rafael Castillo, La Matanza. Thanks to the analysis of security cameras, investigators managed to identify the striker, who lived just five blocks from the crime scene.
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In another incident, José Luis Gómez, a member of the City Police Homicide Division, was murdered on September 19 last year during an attempted motorcycle theft in Remedios de Escalada, Lanús. Meanwhile, Brian Coria, a member of the Buenos Aires force, was executed by criminals on January 15 in Castelar.
A particular case took place in April 2020: a first officer from the Neighborhood Police Station 10, who worked as a ride-share driver, was murdered by a passenger who stole his vehicle and phone. According to the investigation, the perpetrator was another police officer, Franco Piñeiro, who served in the UTOI until he was arrested.
In early November, the senior commander of the Gendarmerie, Guillermo Alfredo López, was murdered when a group of thieves shot him to steal his Toyota Etios.
