Narco violence hits hard in Florencio Varela under Kicillof's disastrous management: three people died, one fighting for their life, and there are no arrests
The alarming escalation of narco violence that suffocates the Province of Buenos Aires has added a new and bloody chapter that starkly exposes the absolute lack of protection for citizens under the management of Kirchnerist governor Axel Kicillof. In the neighborhood of El Alpino, in the town of Florencio Varela, what should have been a quiet neighborhood afternoon turned into a massacre due to the free dispute over territories among criminals acting with total impunity.
The state’s inaction in an area where drug sales operate practically like a drug supermarket resulted in the mistaken execution of three young workers, triggering a subsequent fatal mob uprising with a total of three deaths and no arrests to date.
The bloody episode occurred last Thursday, August 13, at 10:23 PM, on 1325 street, between 1344 and 1348. Three friends were chatting and drinking a soda on the sidewalk when they were surprised by a gray Volkswagen Suran with four occupants, from which they opened fire indiscriminately.
As a result of the attack, Ariel Macchi, aged 29, died instantly at the scene. Franco Herrera, aged 23, suffered fatal wounds to his stomach and back and died shortly after at the hospital.
Meanwhile, Sebastián Ortiz, aged 25, miraculously survived but is fighting for his life at Hospital Mi Pueblo (known as "El Materno"), presenting serious injuries to his abdomen and back.
Ortiz is a young construction worker who has been working since he was 12 years old. His partner, Adriana, painfully defended his honor against neighborhood rumors: “What they are saying is a lie. He has always been a worker, a fighter. He is not anyone's soldier; he is a neighborhood kid”.
Adriana lamented the situation with desperation: “He is 25 years old. Why is life so unfair to him? He spends his time working, always thinking about his family, always trying to get ahead”.
Similarly, an aunt of the young man was outraged by the state’s negligence: “He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and this happened to him... Anyone could have gone outside to buy something and been shot at for a debt that wasn’t theirs”.
Franco Herrera and Ariel Macchi murdered
The criminal investigation, led by prosecutor Vanesa Maiola, the Technical Operational Cabinet (GTO) of the 5th Police Station of Florencio Varela, and the Sub DDI, confirmed that the hitmen linked to a narco gang mistook the house and that the real target of the attack was a drug bunker located just a few meters away.
This property belongs to a local drug dealer identified as "Johny" and his brother, known as the "dealers of the neighborhood". The bloody settling of scores is part of a territorial dispute led by "Los Paisa", a criminal organization of Paraguayans from the neighboring neighborhood "El Paraná". Four members of this gang have been identified.
Just a week earlier, members of this group had entered the area armed in a white Trafic van to shoot and beat "Johny", demanding that he vacate the area. Although the police responded, the silence instilled by the terror of the gangs prevented any reports.
Moreover, the ineffectiveness of the Justice system under the current government prevented the tragedy from being stopped in time, as a search warrant had been requested to dismantle this bunker, which was never granted by the judicial authorities.
In light of the absolute abandonment by the provincial government, the frustration of the neighbors erupted days later in a violent mob uprising involving about 200 people. The crowd destroyed and set fire to the home of the alleged drug distributor.
Sebastián Ortíz
Amid the neighborhood revolt, the tragedy claimed its third victim when Cintia Caballero, aged 30 (sister-in-law of the alleged drug trafficker), was chased and stabbed to death by a protester while neighbors filmed the scene with their phones. Her partner fled the scene injured and remains missing.
Despite the seriousness of this situation, which has already resulted in three deaths, impunity is total. So far, no arrests have been reported for the double homicide or for the murder of Caballero, while narco violence continues to spread unchecked throughout the Conurbano under the disastrous management of Axel Kicillof.
The passivity and incapacity of the provincial state become evident despite isolated operational precedents, such as the raid on March 26 in Barrio Paraná (where 593 packages of base paste —155 grams—, weapons were seized, and two arrests were made) or those on June 10 in El Alpino (with the seizure of 223 packages of base paste and 129 of cocaine).
A neighborhood resident, Javier, starkly portrayed the daily reality of Florencio Varela that political power ignores: “This neighborhood was super quiet until eight years ago when some 'paisas' settled in an empty lot”, concluding with frustration: “This is a supermarket. You see how they line up, how they buy, everything”
