ARGENTINA: The Europe/ Buenos Aires Cocaine Express; Peso Briefly Weakest Since 2002; $9 Bn Payment To Paris Club Rumored.

NYTIMES/ ALEXI BARRIONEUVO /

    Barcelona police earlier this month seized a private Medical Jet from Argentina that was carrying about 2,000 pounds of cocaine. The executive jet was flown by pilots whose fathers were generals during Argentina’s bloody dictatorship.
   “Argentina has become a producer and exporter of cocaine over the past five years, and Europe is looking to Argentina for cocaine,” said anti-drug advocate Claudio Izaguirre. He claims that six drug cartels had set up shop in Argentina in the past five years, two from Colombia and four from Mexico.
   Experts say that the nation has weak border controls and poor radar coverage that encourage trafficking.

 ALSO: FACTOID; NO LINK :
  The peso briefly weakened beyond 4 per usd for the first time since its creation in 1992. The central bank has set a 4.1 per dollar target for 2011.

AND:  The newspaper Pagina 12 claims that Argentina will repay nearly $9 billion in defaulted debt to the Paris Club, well above a previous statement. 
A successful agreement would help Argentina return to global credit markets.
  http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/26/argentina-parisclub-idUSN2613285920110126

ARGENTINA: Boudou Refuses IMF Audit.

M.PRESS/        Economy Minister Amado Boudou (pictured) declared that he is barring the IMF from doing its annual “Article IV” revision for Argentina since 2006.
     Boudou believes the IMF caused the country's worst-ever economic crisis in 2001-02.  "Argentina had a very bad time when the Fund was involved in its policies,” he stated. “We don't need them to lend us money. We don't accept the conditions” the IMF would impose under a loan agreement.
      A new review is key to the repayment of  $7 billion usd in defaulted debt Argentina owes to the Paris Club of creditor nations.