Activities
The Gendarmerie's mission and functions are concerned with both domestic security and national defense.
According to the Argentine Constitution, the armed forces cannot intervene in internal civil conflicts, so the Gendarmerie is subordinate to the Interior Ministry. It is defined as a civilian "security force of a military nature". It maintains a functional relationship with the Ministry of Defense, as part of both the National Defense System and the Interior Security System. It therefore maintains capabilities arising from the demands required by joint military planning with the armed forces.
The Gendarmerie's main missions are:
- Providing security for Argentina's borders
- Providing security for places of national strategic importance (e.g. nuclear plants)
The Gendarmerie is also used for other security missions, which include:
- Policing missions:
- Assisting provincial police services in maintaining public security in rural areas
- Preventing smuggling
- Fighting drug trafficking
- Fighting terrorism
- Fighting crimes "against life and freedom" (children and organs trade, slavery, etc.)
- Dealing with economic crime
- Dealing with environmental crime
- Dealing with illegal immigration
- Military missions:
- War-fighting missions (e.g. in the Falklands War)
- Peacekeeping or humanitarian aid missions under the United Nations
- Providing security for Argentine embassies and consulates in several foreign nations
Under the United Nations, the Gendarmerie has served in Guatemala, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Angola, Lebanon, Rwanda and Haiti.
Read more about this topic: Argentine National Gendarmerie
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