«They Want to Erase the Poor»: Sex Workers Report Surge in Police Violence in Buenos Aires

Original article: “Quieren limpiar a los pobres”: trabajadoras sexuales denuncian escalada de violencia policial en Buenos Aires

Under the banner that the police «want to erase the poor,» sex workers in Buenos Aires have reported an alarming increase in institutional violence.

The Constitución neighborhood in the Argentine capital has seen the highest number of police violence cases.

The end of 2025 was marked by police brutality following the attack on Victor Vargas, who tragically died on December 31 after being shot in the face, as well as the incident involving Juan Gabriel González, who was shot by security forces on Christmas.

Vargas, a father of a teenage daughter, lived with his mother and worked as a parking attendant on the city streets. According to sex workers’ accounts, during a street altercation, Officer Santiago Barrientos shot him without provocation or warning.

«They shot him directly in the face,» they stated, as recorded by Página 12.

«The boy was fighting with a Chilean, and the police officer suddenly pulled out his gun and shot him,» explained one witness, who questioned, «Why did he shoot him in the face and not in the legs?»

«Firefighters also scrubbed the blood off the asphalt of the man, whose name was identified due to the relentless efforts of sex workers to learn his identity at the family-run hotel where he lived. Videos taken on Sunday afternoon show him lying on the ground surrounded by police,» reported the cited media.

Days earlier, cell phone cameras recorded what happened to Juan Gabriel González, who was killed by police on Christmas. Officer Gastón Miño has been arrested for this homicide and is currently in custody awaiting trial in National Criminal Court No. 20 for aggravated homicide.

«They Want to Erase the Poor»

The allegations in the Constitución neighborhood are quite explicit: «they want to erase the poor.» This was stated by participants in a protest that coincided with the day Officer from Police Station 1C shot Victor Vargas once in the face and twice in the chest.

«Arbitrary arrests in the neighborhood have tripled this year compared to previous years, but the increase in operations, raids, and the violence with which police conduct their procedures from the 1C neighborhood station has also surged,» reported Georgina Orellano, leader of the Sex Workers Union and a resident of the Constitución neighborhood, who is well aware of the complicated relationships between police, sex workers, homeless individuals, and residents.

She emphasized that since December 2023, when Jorge Macri took over as the head of Buenos Aires City Government, there has been a noticeable trend aimed at cleaning people out—treating them as waste.

«It has a component of fascism, racism, and classism, targeting migrant collectives, street vendors, sex workers, homeless people, and youth engaged in problematic consumption,» she explained in an interview with Página/12.

Accounts of Police Brutality

«You broke my arm,» Fiorella told a police officer who had her pinned to the ground on November 1, 2025.

The arrest of the transgender migrant woman was initially handled by a female police officer but was later taken over by a male officer.

«That fat cop threw me to the ground and put his knee on my back; I was face down. I told him, ‘You’re hurting me, you’re going to break my arm,’ and he replied, ‘Let me do what I know how to do.’ He applied his knee to my arm; I heard the crack when it broke,» recounted Fiorella, who was detained that night for defending one of her companions being assaulted by members of a criminal gang.

It was over three hours after the police broke her arm before she received assistance. First, they took her around Police Station 1C and then transferred her to Ramos Mejía Hospital.

Given her medical history, she suffered a compound fracture, underwent surgery on her arm, and is currently awaiting a second intervention.

Despite having reported police brutality, she fears possible retaliation.

Over 2,500 Cases of Police Violence

According to data published by the Public Defense Ministry, there were 2,529 cases of police violence in Buenos Aires City during 2024, a significant increase from 1,632 cases in 2023. The 2024 graphic report prominently features Neighborhood Police Station 1C as having the most recorded cases of police violence, with 231 incidents, followed by Neighborhood Police Station 1B (117 cases), Neighborhood Police Station 7C (112 cases), and Neighborhood Police Station 1.11.14 – GNA (106 cases).

«We are concerned about the escalation of police violence, but we are also worried that there is no one to point out the political responsibility behind it. The police act as they do because they have the backing of political powers,» explained Georgina Orellano.

Detentions Involving Sexual Violence

At the Casa Roja –the headquarters of the Sex Workers Union– they have reported assaults perpetrated by police officers, who strip them in the streets or in hotels, disregard their identities, and steal their money.

«‘Take off what you have there, or we’ll beat you,’ recounted Vanesa, reproducing the words told to her by a female police officer when detaining her as she left work on December 16 around 3 PM.

According to her account, two police officers got out of a private vehicle, pushed her against a wall, and handcuffed her:

«They took me to the hotel at Salta 1420. They led me to the room, and I was alone with just those two,» says Vanesa, who further recounts that they stripped her: «They put their gloved fingers, taken from their pockets without sterilization, inside my vagina (I am operated on), and said that they had removed the wrapping from my underwear, which I don’t use,» she explained.

Vanesa made it clear that she was doing nothing wrong and had just finished work, and that the female officers were threatening her and accusing her of drug dealing.

She indicated that this was not the first time she had encountered those two officers: «They had wanted to arrest me, and I ran into a bar, and that time they told me, ‘I hope what happens to you makes you die; next time I see you, I’ll arrest you, I’ll plant drugs on you, and I’ll take you in,’ and I was a bit scared of them.»

“Cleaning” and Neighborhood Complicity

According to an article from Página/12, several residents of Constitución have adhered to the narrative of cleaning as part of promoting order in the Buenos Aires neighborhood.

Through social media, various neighborhood groups celebrate when a police operation displaces street vendors, demand that homeless people be sent to shelters—even when they are overcrowded—or applaud the police for detaining sex workers.

For instance, the Instagram account VecinosdeContitución has posted videos showing youths fighting in the square, people sleeping on the street, as well as police detaining sex workers and migrants.

«This is the filth in which all of us neighbors in Constitución live,» they state in posts that attempt to resonate with the part of the neighborhood that believes the presence of these individuals «lowers the value» of the homes.

Moreover, the Buenos Vecinos organization aligns its narrative with the idea that a city free of poor people on the street is a clean city while also supporting the claims made by the security forces regarding incidents of police violence.

Indeed, on the day Victor Vargas was shot, that Instagram account disseminated an account of the events contrary to what witnesses reported on that Sunday at the corner of Salta and Constitución: «The officer ordered the individual to stop, but he didn’t obey; on the contrary, the individual lunged threateningly while holding a butcher knife. The officer used his service weapon and shot at the assailant, who died,» they stated in a message shared on social media.