The Governor of Santa Fe, Omar Perottiremoved from his position the Minister of Security, Ruben Rimoldi, due to the escalation of violence in the province. Government sources consulted by THE NATION they explained that the governor was dissatisfied with the management of the official and confirmed that Claudio Brilloni, a former commander of the Gendarmerie, swore in his place who was already part of the cabinet.
Close to Perotti, they highlighted in dialogue with this medium that “Nation does not take dimension of what is happening. This is not going to be solved only by sending gendarmes”, they explained. The mayor of Rosario, Pablo Javkin, expressed himself in a similar vein. He highlighted Brilloni’s promotion, but said that alone is not enough.
Minister Aníbal Fernández responded this Wednesday to the provincial claims. “Perotti’s statements are astonishing. The National government has not stopped investing national funds to help solve the problem in the city of Rosario that has been going on for 20 years. The results are visible. We will not stop accompanying with solutions, seeking to reverse this present that shakes, ”he said.
Brilloni had participated in the coordination of security operations between the national government and the province both in the management of Sergio Berni and in that of Patricia Bullrich.
But insecurity in the province exceeds names. Alberto Fernández and Perotti had met in May 2022. After that meeting, the President sent 300 gendarmes. In December, Minister Aníbal Fernández made controversial statements when he announced another reinforcement of 200 gendarmes: he said that Santa Fe should have solved the problem without federal forces.
In a chat with LA NACION, Javkin analyzed that in the last eight or nine days there was a series of serious events that took the wave of insecurity to another level. “There are events of enormous institutional gravity, such as the shooting at television channels, unions, the headquarters of the criminal investigation agency, a police station was shot on a bicycle and today a boy was killed who stood up to shoot him, without a corresponding reaction. at the challenge level,” he said.
And he added that “the entire criminal issue linked to drug trafficking requires a change in penitentiary matters, from which 95 percent of the facts arise. It also depends on the structure of the federal courts in Santa Fe and the deployment of federal forces.” The mayor had to suspend his participation in an act due to a shooting at a municipal health center. This Wednesday, Javkin and Perotti spoke more than once due to the seriousness of the events.
Rimoldi’s departure occurred after a meeting between the Minister of Public Management, Marcos Corach and the governor of Santa Fe in which Rimoldi was summoned. As this medium was able to find out, Perotti was “very dissatisfied”. And it was also learned that the outgoing official would be going through serious “personal problems.” Rimoldi said early in a press conference that the increase in crimes showed that this (due to his policies) “is the way.” In that conference he dodged awkward questions about the rising crime wave and highlighted the help of the national government, something that is not in line with what the governor thinks. “Today I communicated with Fernández and they are going to continue sending Fernández,” Rimoldi had said.
But it was more controversial when he referred to the murder of Lorenzo Altamirano, a young man who was apparently kidnapped to be shot: “Yes, it is a methodology that was used in Colombia in the ’90s.”
The former commander of the National Gendarmerie, Claudio Brilloni, “already took charge” of the ministry. Until today, he served as Secretary of Public Safety. The wave of crimes related to drug trafficking has been hitting the Province relentlessly. This afternoon, the mayor of Rosario, Paul Javkinclaimed “5 thousand policemen trained to fight drug trafficking now.”
Rimoldi was the third Security Minister of the Perotti Government, who began his term in December 2019 with Marcelo Saín. But Saín was replaced amid controversial public statements and leaked audio related to alleged illegal actions by security forces. In his defense, Saín said that his displacement had been a consequence of having investigated criminality. He was replaced by Jorge Lagna.
According to official sources informed LA NACION, Brilloni retired as General Commander of the Gendarmerie in 2020. In that force he served in operations mainly linked to the border with Paraguay and Bolivia. In addition, he “has extensive experience in judicial investigations.”
He has received constant training at Force Institutes, FBI, and other national and international organizations. He also joined a team of OAS Observers in Mexico in 2018.
It has a highly operational profile, where teamwork and multiagency to address Security stand out, as well as extensive experience and track record in the field.
As Secretary of Public Security of the Ministry of Security of the Province of Santa Fe, he managed to consolidate professional work teams, a consensual leadership of the Forces deployed in the territory and strengthening of links with both Provincial and National Justice in pursuit of achieving a joint work.