Argentina
Law enforcement in Argentina
Four federal forces under the Ministry of National Security, and a provincial police in every province — with the prosecutor directing the investigation.
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Policing in Argentina is dual. At the federal level there are four national forces under the Ministry of National Security — the Argentine Federal Police, the National Gendarmerie, the Naval Prefecture and the Airport Security Police. Alongside them, each of the 23 provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires has its own provincial police (a reserved power under Article 121), and those provincial forces handle the bulk of ordinary crime.
The named organisations in this system have pages of their own: Policía Federal Argentina, Gendarmería Nacional Argentina, Prefectura Naval Argentina, Policía de Seguridad Aeroportuaria. How this system compares with others on the five structural questions is set out in who polices what.
The same idea, explained generally
- Why do societies need law enforcement?
Law enforcement exists so that rules apply to everyone rather than to whoever can be compelled. This guide explains the function, the conditions that make it legitimate, and what it cannot do.
- What is the difference between police and law enforcement?
“Police” is one kind of institution. “Law enforcement” is a function that many bodies perform. This guide explains the distinction and why it matters when comparing countries.
Sources
Sources
Argentina — the federal security forces (Ministry of National Security)
Government of Argentina (argentina.gob.ar) · Government publication · link verified 2026-07-27
The Government of Argentina's page on the federal security forces, read directly. Supports that the four national forces — the Argentine Federal Police (PFA), the National Gendarmerie (GNA), the Naval Prefecture (PNA) and the Airport Security Police (PSA) — sit under the national security ministry. Establishes the federal police tier (each of the provinces additionally has its own provincial police under the reserved-powers rule). CORRECTED on 2026-10-10: the ministry is the Ministerio de Seguridad Nacional (Ministry of National Security). It was the Ministerio de Seguridad when this record was written, and was renamed by Decree DNU 58/2025, published on 4 February 2025 (ar-dnu-58-2025); the page itself now shows the new name.
Ministerio de Justicia — Información Legislativa (argentina.gob.ar/normativa) · Legislation · 2025-02-04 · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: the name of the national ministry responsible for Argentina’s federal security forces, and nothing else. The decree’s original text on the national legislation service, read directly: sanctioned 3 February 2025 and published in the Boletín Oficial on 4 February 2025 (number 35602). Supports art. 1, which substitutes art. 1 of the Ley de Ministerios 22.520 so that the list of ministries reads "De Seguridad Nacional"; art. 6, which substitutes art. 22 bis so that "Compete al MINISTERIO DE SEGURIDAD NACIONAL" assisting the President in matters of internal security, including "la dirección y coordinación de funciones y jurisdicciones de las Fuerzas Policiales y de Seguridad nacionales"; and art. 7, which transfers the former ministry’s commitments and provides that wherever existing rules refer to the Ministry of Security it "deberá considerarse sustituida por la expresión “MINISTERIO DE SEGURIDAD NACIONAL”". The decree names no individual force, and none is named from it. As an original text it does not establish later amendments to the Ley de Ministerios.