Judge Marcelo Bailaque, a senior federal magistrate based in Rosario, has been arrested for his role in a complex corruption scheme that allowed drug traffickers and money launders to avoid prosecution.

What makes the arrest especially good news is that Rosario, a river port on the route between cocaine-producing Peru and Bolivia and customers in Europe, has been dubbed Argentina’s first “narcocity,” with gangland violence regularly leading to the deaths of innocents (here). His arrest is a critical step in dismantling the gangs and bringing peace and prosperity to the beautiful, colonial-era city.

Although the immunity Bailaque enjoys as a federal judge may slow the criminal case, the arrest prompted the immediate opening of a disciplinary one before the governing body of the judiciary (the Consejo de la Magistratura). It is now proceeding in parallel with the criminal investigation.

Bailaque was snared as part of a larger investigation led by the Rosario office of Argentina’s Procuraduría de Criminalidad Económica y Lavado de Activos. It found that Carlos Vaudagna, a now former regional director of the tax agency operated as an informal broker between individuals under criminal investigation and key members of the judiciary. Using his position and influence, Vaudagna secured favorable treatment for the suspects in return for bribes or other benefits, intervening directly or through intermediaries to obstruct investigations, delay proceedings, and influence judicial decisions. His conduct exposed a broader structure of collusion between segments of the judiciary and organized economic crime. Judge Bailaque is charged with playing a central role in the criminal scheme, enabling or tolerating illicit practices from his position on the federal bench.

This outcome represents a crucial milestone, not only in the pursuit of accountability in this case, but in the broader fight against corruption within the judiciary. Progress would not have been possible without the collaborative efforts of multiple agencies and the strong institutional backing for prosecutorial independence in Argentina.

For Spanish readers (and Google translate users) more on the investigation follows.

• La Nación: Confirmaron la prisión preventiva del juez federal de Rosario acusado de tener vínculos con los narcos (here)
• Infobae: La trama secreta de las coimas al juez Bailaque, un empresario poderoso y el supuesto vínculo con ex presidentes (here)
• Infobae: Rosario: suspendieron al secretario del juez federal que fue allanado por sospechas de corrupción (here)
• La Política Online: La Cámara Federal benefició al juez Bailaque con prisión domiciliaria (here)
• La Política Online: Una víctima de extorsión de Bailaque declaró que le pidieron 200 mil dólares (here)
• Infobae: Una diputada declaró en la investigación contra el juez federal Bailaque por mal desempeño (here)
• Infobae: Una diputada denunció a un juez federal de Rosario por favorecer judicialmente al capo narco Esteban Alvarado (here)