Argentina | Police violence in Buenos Aires: also a German issue

Impunity for officers in cases of police violence is the norm in Argentina. At the beginning of July, the Federal Police presented the final report of its internal investigation into officer Héctor Guerrero, who seriously injured photojournalist Pablo Grillo during one of the weekly pensioners' demonstrations on March 12. The report concludes that the incident, in which Grillo suffered brain damage after the officer hit him in the head with a tear gas canister, was due to "fortuitous circumstances."

Guerrero faces no disciplinary action, according to the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS), one of the plaintiffs in the criminal proceedings investigating the incident. According to the human rights organization, the report was prepared and submitted "without any serious investigation."

Grillo wasn't the only one affected by police violence that day. More than 100 people were arrested, an 87-year-old pensioner was bloodily beaten by police, a priest was assaulted by police, and Jonathan Navarra was blinded in one eye after the football fan was hit by a pepper spray canister.

Various police forces are regularly involved in police violence in the city of Buenos Aires: the Federal Police (PFA), the Airport Police (PSA), and the Buenos Aires Municipal Police. According to a report by Amnesty International Argentina, more than 1,000 people were injured during demonstrations in 2024, the first year of Javier Milei's government, including 50 journalists and other media workers. CELS reports similar figures . Furthermore, demonstrators are repeatedly arbitrarily arrested.

Bavarian police want to support compliance with human rights

The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Police Department has connections to Bavaria: In 2014, the agency, together with the University of Public Security, where police officers are trained, entered into a partnership with the CSU-affiliated Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSS). The German foundation's stated goal is to establish a citizen-oriented and human rights-respecting municipal police force in Buenos Aires with the help of the Bavarian police. This is necessary: In the years following the military dictatorship (1976–1983), there were many cases of police violence in Argentina, with an increasing trend since Milei took office on Human Rights Day 2023, December 10th.

An inquiry by Bavarian State Parliament member Benjamin Adjei (Alliance 90/The Greens) in May revealed that the state police are maintaining this cooperation under the Milei government. In 2024, for example, "representatives of the security authorities and the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Police" participated in an event organized by the Bavarian Riot Police (BBPol), as well as "advice and support to individual regional police units in Argentina by a representative of the BBPol."

It's not unusual for police forces around the world to cooperate, not just in law enforcement. Interior ministries of democratic states also attempt to influence security agencies in authoritarian countries and support human rights compliance. The German police, for example, have worked with violent authorities in Chile with this aim in mind; there are also similar collaborations between European police forces and police forces in Brazil , for example.

In 2024 and 2025, officers from Bavaria and Argentina addressed the topics of "Leading in Challenging Times," "Digitalization," and "Actively Shaping the Future of the Police." However, the term "leadership" can also refer to a change in tactics during mass protests, such as the increased use of water cannons or other long-range weapons, or the rapid encirclement of gatherings by the police—as is very popular in Germany. And on the topic of "digitalization," German police authorities in authoritarian regimes have even offered workshops on online surveillance .

Cooperation becomes problematic when, as is currently the case in Argentina, there is an exorbitant level of violence. In response to a question from state parliament member Adjei, the Bavarian state government responded that it "attaches the utmost importance to respecting human rights in all international cooperation." The findings from Amnesty International Argentina's report on rising police violence are "therefore being carefully examined" and "further cooperation will be continuously evaluated and adjusted as necessary."

Cooperation is continued instead of reviewed

In response to a request from the "nd," the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Buenos Aires, despite a previous agreement to the contrary, only responded in writing and stated: "When politically motivated demonstrations take place in Argentina, they usually take place in the capital, Buenos Aires. Such demonstrations are usually not handled by the capital city police, but rather by the Argentine federal police. The [Argentine] federal police are not one of our cooperation partners. Should negative trends in the development of the rule of law become apparent, we can respond appropriately at any time."

In fact, it was the federal police who shot the press photographer Grillo. In early June, they even accidentally shot a seven-year-old child. However, the clear separation of police power between municipal and federal authorities is not always easy: Since Javier Milei took office, these authorities have been under the joint command of Security Minister Patricia Bullrich. This was justified by the implementation of the ban on street protests. In this context, Bullrich defends police violence, spreads misinformation, and even blames himself for the shooting of Grillo.

Carmen Verdú of Correpi, an organization working against police and institutional repression in Buenos Aires, confirms the innovation, explaining: "In every mobilization, the federal forces intervene together with the Buenos Aires City Police. They all make arrests, they all use chemical weapons, and they all fire rubber bullets." The external recognizability of the various police forces allows for the direct attribution of the documented acts of violence, as Amnesty International Argentina has done.

Even if Bavaria only wants to cooperate with the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Police, according to the Amnesty International report, this agency is repeatedly involved in significant acts of violence. It was also directly responsible for the particularly harsh repression of the protests on June 12, 2024, and March 12, 2025. A large portion of the arbitrary arrests during the protests against the "Ley Bases" ("Base Reform Package"), which attracted international attention, were therefore the responsibility of the Metropolitan Police.

For example, the case of a lawyer who was so severely mistreated during his arrest that witnesses feared for his life became known. The city's police also repeatedly used lethal weapons at demonstrations in 2024, despite an explicit ban. The Argentine chapter of Amnesty International is unaware of any cooperation with the German police to safeguard human rights.

However, the organization considers the observed violence to be human rights violations – while the Bavarian state government and the HSS are still monitoring the situation. The HSS even wants to increase cooperation: "We are currently striving to expand our police project to include the police forces of selected other provinces in the country. We are currently concentrating on cooperation with the police in the provinces of Tierra del Fuego and Misiones," the organization said in response to an inquiry from "nd."

The question is when and how the "careful review" of cooperation will take place in practice. The violation of demonstrators' fundamental rights and the violence against members of the press have long been known. The behavior of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Police and Security Minister Bullrich should no longer meet Bavarian standards.