Argentina deports Bolivian drug lord known as 'Queen of the South'

Argentina has deported Marisol Saavedra Chungara, a Bolivian national known as "La Reina del Sur" (The Queen of the South), who was sentenced to eight years in prison for drug trafficking. The Ministry of Security announced the expulsion, stating Saavedra Chungara led a criminal organization based in the Flores neighborhood of Buenos Aires.

The operation was carried out by the National Directorate of Migration and the Federal Penitentiary Service. The Ministry confirmed that Saavedra Chungara is barred from re-entering Argentina, though the exact date of her expulsion and her destination were not disclosed.

Saavedra Chungara, 55, was convicted on May 26 by the Federal Criminal Oral Court No. 3 of Rosario. The conviction came after an expedited trial where she was found guilty of aggravated trafficking and transport of narcotics. The case originated from a January 19, 2022, operation on a farm in Rancagua, Buenos Aires province, where a plane dropped packages of cocaine.

During that operation, Saavedra Chungara, two of her children, and two collaborators were arrested. Initially, about 130 kilograms of cocaine were seized, but subsequent investigations increased the total amount linked to the case to 289.1 kilograms. The incident became known as the "narcobombardeo" due to the method of using clandestine flights from Bolivia to introduce the drugs into the country.