Diego Alejo Iglesias, an Argentine lawyer and prosecutor born on May 9, 1974, in the city of Bahía Blanca, in the province of Buenos Aires, stands out as one of the most relevant figures in federal criminal justice, especially for his role at the head of the Narcocriminality Prosecutor’s Office, PROCUNAR, a key body under the National Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Throughout his professional career, the Argentine lawyer has focused his efforts on combating organized crime and the trafficking of illicit substances. Since his appointment as head of PROCUNAR, Iglesias has coordinated some of the most complex federal investigations in the country, prioritizing a strategic approach that combines the analysis of money laundering with the dismantling of the command structures of criminal organizations.
In addition to his judicial career, he has authored several publications on drug trafficking and addiction treatment. He has also taught at prestigious Argentine academic institutions.
Diego Iglesias’s academic background
Iglesias’s academic and professional development within the judiciary and public prosecution system began at the University of Buenos Aires, where he graduated as a lawyer from the Faculty of Law.
He later obtained the title of Specialist in Criminal Law and Criminology from the National University of Lomas de Zamora, as well as the title of Advanced National Specialist in the Fight against Drug Trafficking, a training certification granted by Argentina’s Secretariat for Comprehensive Drug Policies.
Once established in his professional career, the Argentine lawyer continued his connection with academia by serving as a university professor at recognized Argentine institutions, including the University of Buenos Aires, the National University of Lomas de Zamora, the National University of Lanús and Universidad del Salvador.
Iglesias and his professional career in justice
His first steps in the judicial sphere were marked by his work as a legal secretary in the Criminal Law Area of the Office of the Attorney General, where case files arriving at the Supreme Court of Justice of Argentina are analyzed.
He was also a secretary in the Federal Criminal and Correctional Justice system, which is responsible for investigating crimes that affect the national state and public administration, organized crime and other specific offenses.
Iglesias was also in charge of Federal Prosecutor’s Office No. 1 of Lomas de Zamora and National Federal Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No. 10 in the City of Buenos Aires. In the jurisdiction of Lomas de Zamora, he focused his efforts on prosecuting complex crimes such as regional drug trafficking, smuggling through Ezeiza Airport and kidnapping for ransom. In Prosecutor’s Office No. 10 in Comodoro Py, his role acquired a high public profile by leading investigations into institutional corruption and fraud against public administration.
Iglesias and PROCUNAR
The Narcocriminality Prosecutor’s Office, PROCUNAR, is the specialized unit of the Public Prosecutor’s Office responsible for assisting and strengthening investigations related to narcocriminality, understood as crimes linked to organized crime and drug trafficking. It covers drug trafficking, distribution and sale, the different illicit activities that support those operations, and the violence and corruption associated with that chain.
Diego Iglesias’s relationship with this body was formalized in June 2015, when he was appointed head prosecutor of PROCUNAR through a resolution of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Since then, Iglesias has led the institutional efforts of the prosecutor’s office.
Under Iglesias’s leadership, PROCUNAR has adopted an approach focused on redirecting and prioritizing state resources toward the prosecution and dismantling of major criminal structures.
It has also focused on tracing the money of narcocriminal organizations, based on the idea that the most effective way to weaken these structures is to affect their economic benefit.
At the same time, it has centered part of its work on agreements and cooperation among prosecutors from different jurisdictions so that information related to complaints and case files can be shared more quickly and efficiently, with the goal of strengthening logistical controls to stop large-scale drug trafficking.
Due to his work at the head of PROCUNAR, in 2019 Iglesias received the National Award for Quality in Justice, which recognizes bodies that seek to improve and advance judicial service.
After more than a decade leading the prosecutor’s office, Diego Alejo Iglesias has consolidated himself as a reference in Argentine criminal justice, promoting cooperation among different regional institutions and contributing his knowledge of drug trafficking and addiction treatment through his role as a professor and speaker.
