Why off-duty cops in second jobs ‘kill and die more’ in recession-hit Argentina

Police complaints over pay and working conditions have increased over recent years. Photograph: Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Police complaints over pay and working conditions have increased over recent years. Photograph: Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images Why off-duty cops in second jobs ‘kill and die more’ in recession-hit Argentina Growing number of cases involve police working as rideshare drivers while carrying government-issued guns W hen the gap between his salary and his family’s basic expenses began widening dramatically, Diego – like many other Argentinians – started working as a rideshare driver on top of his day job. He usually does a few hours at the end of his 12-hour shift; and more on his days off. It would be just another story from recession-ridden Argentina , but for the fact that Diego is a federal police officer. The chainsaw austerity measures of president Javier Milei have had a devastating impact on the daily lives of large parts of Argentina’s population. While the rate of overall economic activity is slowly increasing , purchasing power has been rapidly declining as increasing numbers of people take loans to cover the basics , including food. “You can make around 44,000 pesos (about £24) in an extra eight-hour shift in the police or you can make 42,000 pesos worth of trips in four hours. It’s just maths. It is very common to get in a rideshare and find out the driver also works in the police,” said Diego, who asked not to use his real name. A growing number of Argentinian police officers, including those who spoke to the Guardian, say they are taking on second jobs – often carrying with them their government-issued guns for protection. Human rights organisations say this shift has coincided with an increase in deaths caused by off-duty officers using their service weapons while working other jobs. According to data from the Centre for Legal and Social Studies (Cels), 75% of deaths caused by police officers using their issued firearms in 2025 occurred while the officers were off duty. About 13% of the total involved officers working as rideshare drivers at the time of the incident. This represents a marked increase from the past, with 16 cases recorded in 2025, up from two in 2020. In February, a 30-year-old police officer working as a rideshare driver shot two men who attempted to rob him in broad daylight while he was dropping off two passengers in La Matanza, in the greater Buenos Aires area, local media reported . A few months earlier, in December 2025, a federal police officer also working as a rideshare driver shot and killed a 15-year-old. The officer said the teenager attacked him while a group of other men circled the car, one of them allegedly carrying a gun. The driver said he identified himself as a police officer before pulling out his government-issued gun and shooting at the group. The bullet hit one of the men trying to open the car, who later died in hospital. View image in fullscr