LAURA BONAPARTE AND THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST ORGANIZED CRIME

Criminal organizations are rubbing their hands in anticipation, counting on government measures to impact the market in their favor. The Laura Bonaparte National Hospital, a facility specializing in mental health and addiction treatment, is on the verge of shutting down due to a decision by the National Ministry of Health — leaving patients waiting, still holding on to hope that they will continue to receive the care and support they need.

The wonderful world of flowers and hope.

Laura Bonaparte was a psychologist and a key figure in the struggle for human rights. During the last military dictatorship in Argentina, three of her children, their spouses, and her life partner were murdered. Laura was a member of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo - Founding Line, promoted the international campaign to declare forced disappearance a crime against humanity, and—together with Graciela Lois, a leader of the Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared for Political Reasons—prevented the demolition and privatization of the Navy Mechanics School (ESMA), now a Memory Site and former clandestine detention center.

Beyond her role as a human rights advocate, Laura was also a professional committed to helping those who suffer the most—those excluded and cast aside. She passed away on a cold winter day in 2013, after years of struggle, cruel blows, and moments of joy. She left behind tears and smiles—her own and especially those of her patients. Three years after her passing, the State and society recognized her life’s work by naming the only National Mental Health Hospital after her.

Specialized in providing medical, psychological, and social support, the Laura Bonaparte National Mental Health Hospital represents the first line of defense for the primary victims of drug trafficking: the poor who struggle with substance use and cannot afford private treatment systems, which are the most widespread in the country. The National Government has now decided to dismantle the only barrier holding back an increasingly complex social situation, as cries for help from families and local parishes working with victims of drug trafficking continue to multiply.

The State invests billions of pesos in pursuing criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking. The budgets of the Ministries of Security and Justice increase year after year, while the failures of successive administrations follow the same pattern: nonexistent drug prevention programs, shrinking recreational, sports, and cultural spaces, prohibitively expensive private treatment centers, and state institutions tasked with prevention lacking sufficient resources due to political decisions and an outdated, bureaucratic legal framework.

Shutting down the only federal institution that supports people who are victims of federal crimes like drug trafficking is not the right path. The government may celebrate a reduction in homicides in Rosario, or the seizure of tons of cocaine and marijuana intended for Europe and Asia, but unless a new, long-term, inclusive policy is built—one that reduces demand and includes those discarded by the system—resources and time will always fall short.

The fight against organized crime, and drug trafficking in particular, has changed. Today, in addition to imprisoning members of criminal organizations, the justice system is focused on recovering the wealth accumulated by these death merchants and returning it to the State. Unfortunately, the National Government manages these assets under a 50-year-old law, riddled with flaws in both origin and execution.

The State currently holds over 700 billion pesos worth of assets—houses, apartments, farmland, cars, trucks, vans, boats, planes, jewelry, etc.—that are deteriorating and incurring enormous maintenance, insurance, and security costs. Beyond the taxpayer money being wasted through an inefficient policy, what we are really losing are opportunities for employment and reparation.

Since May, a bill titled “Bien Restituido” (Restored Property) has been presented in the National Congress, supported by nearly 50 representatives from across the political spectrum (UXP, PRO, La Libertad Avanza, UCR, Innovación Federal, Hacemos Coalición Federal, Buenos Aires Libre). The bill promotes the efficient management of recovered assets.

Broadly speaking, the bill proposes the creation of a single, unified registry of assets—currently there are three, and they don't match—along with predefined practices and uses for those assets, such as support for institutions that care for victims of organized crime, funding for security forces and the judiciary working to dismantle these networks, and support for civil society organizations—chapels, synagogues, mosques, neighborhood clubs, foundations, cooperatives—that work to prevent people from becoming new victims of organized crime.

The Bien Restituido bill is a project that places people at its center, and strengthens the institutions where people seek the refuge they’ve lost—places like the Laura Bonaparte Hospital, where healing takes place, where the common good is the highest aim, and where the fight against drug trafficking becomes real and meaningful.