The government of Yamandú Orsi took a step in the right direction by announcing the deployment of armored vehicles from the National Army to support police patrols in the most dangerous neighborhoods of Montevideo.
It is a sensible measure. Military resources cannot remain idle while organized crime and insecurity escalate. Using that infrastructure (Mamba vehicles and trained personnel) under police command to reinforce the state's presence in critical areas is logical and necessary.
However, it is clearly insufficient
Accompanying the police with armored vehicles helps with deterrence and the protection of agents, but it does not change the underlying equation. As long as criminals continue to perceive that the risk of being caught is low and that the consequences are mild, insecurity will not stop. Uruguay needs much more than logistical support: it needs effective and exemplary repression.
What is missing: real tough measures
It is not enough for the military to "accompany." Security forces, including the military component, need greater operational latitude, and the penal system must stop being a revolving door.
Uruguay must urgently advance in:
- Much harsher penalties. Homicides, especially those linked to organized crime, contract killings, and robberies with extreme violence, must receive exemplary punishments without automatic benefits. Effective life imprisonment must be a reality, not a fiction.
