Argentina's Supreme Court has upheld a lower-court decision authorizing the extradition to Brazil of an Argentine businessman and his Paraguayan wife, both accused by Brazilian authorities of involvement in a transnational arms-trafficking network linked to major Brazilian criminal factions.
Diego Hernán Dirisio, known as the "Master of Arms," and Julieta Vanesa Nardi Aranda face charges in Brazil including international firearms trafficking, leading a transnational criminal organization and money laundering, according to single-source reporting from Gazeta do Povo. The final extradition decision now rests with Argentina's executive branch.
The Alleged Network
Brazilian authorities accuse the couple of leading a scheme that supplied weapons to the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), a São Paulo-born prison and drug-trafficking faction, and Comando Vermelho (CV), a Rio de Janeiro-based criminal organization. Both groups operate across state lines and have long been central actors in Brazil's organized-crime landscape.
According to the report, investigators say the alleged network imported about 25,000 firearms legally into Paraguay beginning in 2012, from countries including Croatia, Turkey, the Czech Republic and Slovenia. The total value of the weapons was reported at USD 230 million.
The accusation says the firearms were then acquired through a third person who maintained contact with criminal groups in Brazil. Before crossing into Brazil, the weapons allegedly had their serial numbers removed in Ciudad del Este, the Paraguayan border city near Brazil and Argentina that has often appeared in regional security investigations.
Court Ruling
Argentina's top court rejected appeals filed by the couple's defense lawyers, who had argued that Brazil's case amounted to judicial persecution for alleged political reasons. The court confirmed the lower ruling that opened the path for extradition.
"Now the final decision is in the hands of Argentina's executive branch," the court said, according to Gazeta do Povo.
The ruling does not by itself complete the handover to Brazilian authorities. It removes a judicial obstacle and leaves the political and administrative step of extradition to Argentina's government.
Arrests and Next Step
Brazilian courts ordered the couple's arrest in November 2023. Dirisio and Aranda fled, according to the report, and were later detained by Interpol in Argentina's Córdoba province in February 2024.
The case matters because it connects three pressure points in South American security: legal arms imports, porous regional borders and the demand for high-powered weapons from Brazilian gangs. If the extradition proceeds, Brazilian prosecutors would gain direct custody of two defendants they describe as central to an alleged international supply chain for organized crime.
The report did not include a response from the defendants beyond their appeal argument that the Brazilian prosecution was politically motivated. It also did not specify when Argentina's executive branch may issue its final decision.