29/06/2026 09:16 - Judiciales
Around 10 AM on Sunday, June 29, 2026, the Salta Police received a distress call: two women reported being victims of an attempted robbery on National Route 34, near the entrance to El Potrero, in the jurisdiction of Rosario de la Frontera.
What seemed to be a dangerous situation turned, within minutes, into a shocking discovery that rattled the city of Tartagal. The women, traveling in a Renault Duster, claimed to have been intercepted by a white pickup truck without a rear license plate. According to their account, they resisted the alleged robbery and the attackers shot at them, breaking the rear window and one of the vehicle's tires.
Both were placed at the disposal of the Federal Justice for suspected drug transportation.
During the vehicle inspection, investigators discovered that one of the bullets had lifted the metal sheet of a double bottom in the trunk. This exposed the yellow-colored cocaine bricks, weighing approximately 70 kilograms (154 lbs).
The shipment was likely destined for Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital city.
Investigators consulted indicated that the attack could be a "mexicaneada", a term used in the drug trafficking world to refer to stealing cocaine from one criminal group to another. According to this line of investigation, a local drug cartel organizes both the shipments and these fake robberies.
Criminal Strategy
They steal from themselves to avoid paying transport fees
Consequence
The "victims" become indebted to the cartel
Precedent
Similar incidents recorded at the same location
The case generates special commotion due to the profile of those involved. Ivana Georgina Portal is not only a doctor but also provides services to National Gendarmerie, a security force dedicated precisely to fighting drug trafficking at the borders. Her husband is also a gendarme and works as the driver for the Tartagal Squadron commander.
The National Gendarmerie is Argentina's military police force responsible for border security, internal order, and combating organized crime, especially drug trafficking in border areas.
Delia Yolanda Tame is a well-known businesswoman in the area, owner of a beauty and cosmetology establishment. Both women were friends and shared social circles in Tartagal, a city in the northern province of Salta, near the Bolivian border.
Sources involved in the case indicated to Infobae that Portal is classified as "irrecoverable" by the financial system, suggesting she may have negative credit history.
According to sources who spoke to Infobae, the shipment would be related to a drug clan operating in Tartagal. This would further complicate the situation of the detainees: beyond the legal consequences for drug transportation, they could face retaliation from the criminal group itself.
The investigation continues, and the formal indictment hearing, the final weighing of the cargo, and the prosecutor's office in charge of the case are expected to be known in the coming hours.
Alfredo S. Quiroga
