Overview

• The recall focuses on passports in AAL ranges AAL314778–AAL346228, AAL400000–AAL607599 and AAL616000–AAL620088, which may fail to be read by border-control scanners.
• The government cites roughly 5,000–6,000 confirmed cases, Deputy Esteban Paulón alleges about 60,000, and consular notices expanded verification to more than 200,000 booklets.
• RENAPER says faulty batches were withdrawn, production has normalized for weeks, and free replacements and emergency passports are being issued.
• The problem was first detected at the São Paulo consulate, and other posts including Montreal are sending suspect passports to Buenos Aires for inspection.
• Authorities attribute the failure to a defective infrared‑reactive security ink from longtime German supplier Muelbahuer, though some users reported visible quality defects in their booklets.