Buenos Aires, Argentina — Argentine security forces have arrested Rodolfo Junior Aguirre Covarrubias, a Mexican citizen wanted on an Interpol red notice for alleged drug trafficking offenses in the United States, officials announced Friday.
National Security Minister Alejandra Monteoliva confirmed the arrest in a post on X, saying Interpol had issued the red notice for extradition purposes at the request of US authorities. “This is Rodolfo Junior Aguirre Covarrubias, a Mexican narco,” Monteoliva wrote, sharing a photo of the suspect flanked by two police officers.
The State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE) said it detected the fugitive’s entry into Argentina through intelligence work and with help from the National Directorate of Migration. After verifying with US authorities that the judicial warrant was still active, SIDE alerted Interpol’s Argentine Federal Police unit, which arrested Aguirre Covarrubias at a hotel in the Puerto Madero neighborhood of Buenos Aires.
Aguirre Covarrubias is wanted by the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on charges of possession, distribution, and sale of more than 10 kilograms of cocaine, stemming from a case opened in 2016. He had been a fugitive after violating the conditions of his bail.
“Argentina is not a refuge for criminals,” Monteoliva said. “They commit crimes. They pay for them.”
SIDE credited the arrest to the coordinated work of the National Intelligence System and international cooperation. Argentine authorities said the extradition process requested by the United States will now proceed through the country’s judicial system.
