The weekend left another chapter of the internal in the PRO between Mauricio Macri and Patricia Bullrich. Both publicly disavow that strain. But it exists and generates political effects. The match is divided in two, with the Macrismo on the one hand, which strives to detach itself from La Libertad Avanza, and the Bullrichismo on the other, which acts as an official party and seeks to merge with the space of Javier Milei. It is in this framework that the episode that stirred up differences again took place. The Minister of Security threw out on saturday to Vicente Ventura Barrerio, who served as the Ministry’s second. The former official is from Complete trust of Cristian Ritondoa leader aligned with the former President and distanced from Bullrich.
Bullrich explained on Saturday, from his X account, that he ran to Ventura Barreiro because the official “tried,” allegedly, “interfere in a bidding process of food services for the Federal Penitentiary Service (SPF).” This organization has been under the orbit of the Ministry of Security since the official took office, on December 10, 2023. It was an express request that she made to Milei to return to that role in public management.
According to Bullrich’s accusation, Ventura Barreiro communicated with the head of the SPF, Fernando Martínez, to try to intervene in a tender to buy food for the 13,000 inmates housed in federal prisons. It is a millionaire purchase. The Ministry usually had fifteen suppliers. The minister expanded this scheme to about 300in an idea “opener”. The decision seeks to break “monopolies”. The particularity is that Milei himself, in his libertarian preaching, teaches that “market failures” do not exist. Therefore, talking about monopoly is a “trap” of the neoclassical school of economics. Paradoxes of politics.
For the minister, her former official sought to intercede to achieve a “measurements sheet”. And she acted”bridging” to Julian Curi, National Director of the Federal Penitentiary Service. Furthermore, Ventura Barrerio, according to Bullrich’s complaint, intervened in an area that did not correspond to him. The bidding processes of the Ministry of Security are in charge of Martin SiracusaSecretary of Administrative Coordination.
The minister found out about the situation last Wednesday, when she returned from her trip to El Salvador. She had been in that country to meet with the president, Nayib Bukele, and visit the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). The person who first informed him of the situation was Fernando Martínez himself, who revealed the communication that he had had with Ventura Barreiro. Then, she contacted the former official to ask for resignation.
Until that episode, both Bullrich and his surroundings they valued the task of Ventura Barreiro. He is a technician specialized in security management. He had performed the same function in the City of Buenos Aires, under the orbit of Diego Santilli and Marcelo D’Alessandro. It was even suggested to continue in that area with the arrival of Jorge Macri to the Head of Government. But he was probed to escalate to the Ministry of National Security.
“Tito” Ventura Barreiro, as those who know him call him, is a leader of the inner circle by Ritondo. During these hours, the former official swears to those close to him that he did not act with “bad faith” or “outside the law.” At the same time, He is not unaware of his communication with Fernando Martínez, but he distances himself from the alleged attempt to influence to achieve a “sheet of measures”, as he attributed to bullrichism. Those around him are sure that Bullrich fired him as “political response” within the PRO.
“It’s a political question, that’s all.“, a leader close to Ritondo who knows Ventura Barreiro told Infobae. “He is honest and very good at what he does, he knows the security forces like no one else,” adds another source from the circle of the former Secretary of National Security.
Macri followed closely all the Tito affair. At the former President’s political table they are convinced that the departure of Ventura Barreiro was a reaction from Bullrich to collect the move by Ritondo-Macri for control the PRO of the province of Buenos Aires.
In April, Macri assumed the presidency of the PRO with the idea of reorder to the match, strengthen it, and prevent Bullrich from taking the seal to La Libertad Avanza as an offering to Milei. As part of that move, the former President endorsed to Ritondo to occupy the same function in the PRO of the province of Buenos Aires. The problem was that the role was already occupied – and with two years of mandate ahead – by Daniela Reich, Buenos Aires legislator and wife of the mayor of Tres de Febrero, Diego Valenzuela.
Ritondo appealed to a political device to remove Reich, who is aligned through Valenzuela with Bullrich. He managed to I quit the majority of the Board of Directors of the Buenos Aires PRO to generate a acephaly. Next, the election of new authorities was called. The presentation of the lists will be this Tuesday. And yes, no surprises, Ritondo himself will be the only candidate and will formally take over as president.
Bullrich analyzed the possibility of presenting a leader to intern Ritondo. But the idea was discarded. Bullrichismo chose to stay on the sidelines. The posture will be not recognize the election of the national deputy.
The Minister of Security insists, however, that the departure of Ventura Barreiro “had nothing to do with it” with the internal of the PRO. Like Macri, she is a professional of power and does not do anything without a thread. The dispute is such that she decided to run the official in the middle of the search operation. Loan Danilo Peña, the 5-year-old boy who has been missing for 10 days. The case gained national importance and the Ministry of Security focused on it.
The decision was well thought out. So much so that Bullrich already has Ventura Barreiro’s replacement. Is about Alejandra Monteoliva, an expert on the subject who served as Minister of Security of Córdoba in the government of José Manuel de la Sota. And she held her last public position between 2015 and 2019, also under the orbit of Bullrich, as Director of Operations at the Ministry of National Security. From there they know each other.
Bullrich’s next step will be throw to Matias Ojeda, Undersecretary of Security, who responded to Ventura Barreiro. He will do it today. You don’t have a name for that function yet. But he is looking for someone who, like Federico Angelini, Undersecretary of Federal Intervention, has “a lot of operability” to monitor the security forces at work in the territory.
Monteoliva, meanwhile, has experience in security management. He worked in operations in Colombiawith the local police, in the fight against FARC and drug trafficking. It even became kidnapped by that guerrilla organization. During his time in Bogotá, he trained with Oscar Naranjo Trujillo, former vice president and former police chief of that country. In addition, he carried out security consulting tasks in Honduras and El Salvador, where he worked on the “Bukele Model.”
During his time in the Ministry of Security of Córdoba, Monteoliva had a local police barracks in 2013. It generated political costs and he distanced himself from Córdoba public life. Bullrich told his collaborators that, at the time, the official “they left her alone”. When analyzing this conflict, he focuses on the role of the National Government of those days, in charge of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
Bullrich met with Monteoliva yesterday at 11 in a Palermo bar. Coffee in between, she proposed that she take over as Secretary of Security and indicated the priorities of the position, focused on the Anti-Mafia Law and the fight against organized crime. After an hour and a half of talk, the minister sent the new official’s resume to Milei and Guillermo Francos, Chief of Staff of the Nation. And he communicated with both of them. Both they agreed the dismissal of Ventura Barreiro and the appointment of his successor.
The Minister of Security will coincide with Monteoliva this Tuesday in Paraguay. Both will participate in the Meeting of National Authorities on Transnational Organized Crime (RANDOT). It is an OAS forum for dialogue on regional security issues. Bullrich will travel to Asunción that same day and will return on Wednesday. He will take advantage of his intervention at RANDOT to point out the need for strengthen border control with that country, something that took emphasis after the disappearance of Loan.
As he knew Infobae, is scheduled to present Monteoliva on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday. That day he will give a conference with Mariano Cúneo LibaronaMinister of Justice of the Nation, to announce the project of Juvenile Criminal Law. Although it is not yet confirmed, the minister does not rule out including her new official in that activity. Another possibility is to formalize her commissioning with a press conference this week at the headquarters of the Ministry of Security.
Meanwhile, the Macri administration is analyzing possible scenarios. “This It is a return to Ritondo and Mauricio for the move in the province of Buenos Aires,” said a regular deputy of the former President. Bullrich knows that this Tuesday the list will be presented for Ritondo to replace Reich, the Buenos Aires PRO.
But that is not the main concern of bullrichismo. He July 4th It is the scheduled date for the yellow party to elect the president of the Assembly, the body that defines electoral alliances. In an agreement between both sectors, Macri had agreed Let Bullrich occupy that role. However, at these times in the Macri administration they do not rule out removing her from that chair. Even the name of Martin Yezanational deputy, to occupy that role in the event of breach the pact with the Minister of Security.
Bullrich doesn’t have the numbers in the Assembly to prevent them from expelling it. But it has enough political weight to avoid that move. Besides of back full of Milei himself. Although this support is marked, in part, by the minister’s role within the PRO. Without impact on the party seal, you will lose trading cards in the electoral arena.
Meanwhile, the bullish political operators move alongside the libertarians to build territorially and promote the fusion with the PRO heading to 2025. The province of Buenos Aires is the laboratory of an experiment that they seek to replicate throughout the country.
The Macri administration is cautiously following this process. In the political plant of the former President they read that Bullrich has in mind split the PRO block in the Chamber of Deputies. It is something that he already did in the Buenos Aires Legislature. Close to Macri they analyze that the decision to fire Ventura Barreiro was a warning prior to a possible legislative fracture.
Although not always directly, the dispute between Macri and Bullrich scale dizzily. If it is not with verbal darts, it is with crossed accusations or through disputes proxy. Freedom Advances and it is internal to the PRO as well.
