Argentine Naval Prefecture

Argentine Naval Prefecture
*Prefectura Naval Argentina*
Argentine Naval Prefecture; Prefectura Naval Argentina
	Emblem of the Prefecture.
Abbreviation	PNA
Motto	Robur et quies iuxta litora et in undis; Valour and safety in coasts and waters
Agency overview
Formed	June 1810
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agency; (Operations jurisdiction)	Argentina
Operations jurisdiction	Argentina
Legal jurisdiction	As per operations jurisdiction
General nature	Federal law enforcement; Gendarmerie;
Specialist jurisdiction	Coastal patrol, marine border protection, marine search and rescue.;
Operational structure
Headquarters	Ave. E. Madero 235, Buenos Aires
Elected officer responsible	Patricia Bullrich, Minister of Security;
Agency executives	Prefect General Eduardo Scarzello, National Prefect; Prefect General Hugo Ilacqua, National Subprefect;
Parent agency	Ministry of Security
Zones	10 Alto Paraná ; Alto Uruguay ; Paraná Superior and Paraguay ; Lower Uruguay ; Lower Paraná ; Delta ; Río de la Plata ; North Argentine Sea ; South Argentine Sea ; Lacustre and Comahue;
Facilities
Helicopters	7
Planes	10
Website
	argentina.gob.ar/prefecturanaval
	Phone: 54 11 4318 7400; March: March of the Naval Prefecture

The Argentine Naval Prefecture (Spanish: Prefectura Naval Argentina or PNA) is a service of Argentina's Security Ministry charged with protecting the country's rivers and maritime territory. It therefore fulfills the functions of other countries' coast guards, and furthermore acts as a gendarmerie force policing navigable rivers.

According to the Argentine Constitution, the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic cannot intervene in internal civil conflicts, so the Prefecture is defined as a civilian "security force of a military nature". It maintains a functional relationship with the Ministry of Defense, as part of both the National Defense System and the Interior Security System. It therefore maintains capabilities arising from the demands required by joint military planning with the armed forces.

The PNA is a large organization for a coastguard. With a strength of 45,750 sworn members, the PNA is a larger organization than most national navies, and is in fact slightly larger than the Argentine Navy – the organization upon which it had been attached for a long time until the 1980s, when it was transferred to direct control of the Ministry of Defense.