By Camila Torres

Narco plan in Punta del Este: the plot to assassinate Argentine officials that shakes the border

Reality often surpasses fiction in any streaming series. a rugged drug plan in Punta del Este was dismantled in the last few hours by the Argentine authorities, exposing a conspiracy that sought to bathe the main Uruguayan resort in blood. The objective was clear and ambitious: assassinate the Minister of Security of Entre Ríos, Néstor Roncaglia, along with a judge and a federal prosecutor.

According to information provided by Infobae, the brain behind this movement would be Leonardo Airaldi, a well-known 44-year-old drug lord who is currently serving a sentence in Penal Unit No. 9 of Gualeguaychú. From his cell, Airaldi would have woven a network of contacts that included the hiring of a local “labor force,” a Uruguayan hitman, to carry out the crimes far from Argentine soil, seeking impunity and the surprise factor.

The Uruguayan hitman and the ,000 from the drug plan in Punta del Este

The investigation, which today is in the hands of the Federal Justice, revealed that the budget for this “cleanup” was about ,000. The informant, a prisoner who decided to speak out to save his skin, explained that the attack had to be carried out taking advantage of the officials' summer recess. The drug trafficking operation was based on the premise that the three targets would coincide in Uruguay during their vacations, a fact that ultimately turned out to be erroneous but shows the logistics that the gang managed.

The targets chosen were not coincidental. Roncaglia, Ríos and Candioti have been the visible faces of the fight against drug trafficking in the province of Entre Ríos, directly affecting the interests and freedom of Airaldi. The criminal strategy linked to drugs was, in essence, an act of pure and simple revenge, designed to send a message of terror to the entire judicial and political leadership of the region.

• The intellectual author: Leonardo Airaldi, prosecuted for drug trafficking.

• The objectives: Minister Néstor Roncaglia, judge Leandro Ríos and prosecutor José Candioti.

• The method: Hiring a hitman in Uruguay for a sum in dollars.

• The trigger: The imminent oral trial against the criminal organization.

Prison raid and the end of the drug plan in Punta del Este

Once the threat was validated by investigators, federal prosecutor Pedro Rebollo wasted no time. A massive raid was ordered in Penal Unit 9, where the National Gendarmerie seized cell phones, handwritten notes and even drugs. Are tests confirm that, despite being behind bars, communication with the outside world was fluid, allowing the organized drug trafficking network to continue its course until it was intercepted by prison intelligence.

Although Infobae stated that none of the officials were planning to travel to Uruguay this summer, the threat was taken with the utmost seriousness. It wasn't just a prison delirium; There were names, amounts and a specific location. The drug maneuver failed due to an intelligence error by the criminals, but it made it clear that criminal organizations no longer respect borders when searching rematch.

Editorial information: The security of officials has been immediately reinforced. In Uruguay, the police are also alert to the possible presence of the hitman mentioned in the wiretaps.

The connection between Entre Ríos and the hitmen in Uruguay

It is not new that drug trafficking gangs in the Argentine coastal area have links with “colleagues” on the other side of the river. However, that a drug plan in Punta del Este Going so far as to organize a triple execution marks a new level of audacity. The Uruguayan hitman, often linked to internal reckonings in neighborhoods peripherals of Montevideo, appears to be being recruited for “jobs” with a greater international profile.

The collaboration between the Entre Ríos Police and the Uruguayan authorities will be essential in the coming days to identify the gunman who accepted the deal. He drug plan in Punta del Este It could have been a devastating blow for Argentine institutions and an indelible trauma for Uruguayan tourism, which has always boasted of being a safe haven for public figures in the region.

Judicial consequences after criminal action linked to drug trafficking

Leonardo Airaldi now faces new charges that could extend his prison stay for several decades. The case for the drug trafficking plot is added to his files for drug trafficking, complicating his situation ahead of the oral trial. Meanwhile, Minister Roncaglia declared that they will not allow themselves to be intimidated by “mafiosi who believe they can run the province from a cell.”

For Montevideo residents and vacationers who choose the East, this news is a reminder that the racketeering It is a transnational phenomenon. The criminal drug scheme was dismantled in time, but the shadow of the hitmen and the millions from drug trafficking continues to lurk in the shadows of the regional prisons.

In short, the speed of the investigators and the testimony of the informant prevented what could have been the bloodiest news of the decade. He drug plan in Punta del Este It ended in raids and more custody, but the guard does not lower: the drug trafficker does not forgive and, as was seen this time, it does not have geographical limits either.