The Chief of Staff, Manuel Adorni, and the Minister of National Security, Alejandra Monteoliva, led this Monday an operation to destroy narcotics and chemical precursors at the Grupo Pelco SA plant, in El Talar, province of Buenos Aires. The event took place hours before Adorni was due to appear before Congress.
The Secretary of Security, Martín Ferlauto, members of the Federal Police and Security Forces, and the director of Drug Trafficking and Related Crimes of the DGA-ARCA, Diego Pérez Escobar, participated in the procedure.
They were destroyed more than 800 kilograms of cocaine, marijuana and synthetic drugsalong with more than 1,800 kilograms of chemical precursors —caustic soda, acetone, ether and acids—used for the production of narcotics. The incinerated material has an estimated value more than 4,000 million pesos in the illegal market. Its destruction, according to the Government, implies the direct elimination of economic, logistical and operational resources of criminal organizations.
These procedures constitute the final stage of a process that includes judicial investigations, seizure operations and dismantling of criminal networks, with the aim of guaranteeing that the seized drugs do not return to the illegal circuit.
From the beginning of the administration, 281 destruction procedures throughout the country, with an approximate total of 290 tons of illegal substances eliminated. In 2025, cocaine seizures will reach 13,476 kilogramsthe highest historical record in Argentina, with an increase of 14% compared to the previous year. In the last two years, more than 25,000 kilogramsexceeding the total seized between 2020 and 2023.
Marijuana seizures also increased 4%while in synthetic drugs the growth was 58% compared to all previous management. In parallel, in 2025, 28,004 anti-drug procedures (+9%) and stopped at 28,676 people for violation of the Narcotics Law (+18%).
In the province of Buenos Aires, cocaine seizures exceeded 2 tons during 2025, which represents an increase in 257% compared to the previous year.
The choice of moment does not seem coincidental. Adorni’s public appearance alongside an operation with high visual impact—tons of incinerated drugs, federal forces, record numbers—works as a staging that the Government arrives at Congress with management to show. Before legislators who could subject him to uncomfortable questions on other fronts, the Chief of Staff presents himself with a specific asset: the highest anti-drug numbers in Argentine history.
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