ARGENTINA – The office of Argentine President Javier Milei has denied explosive reports al-leging that the country’s intelligence agency approved a plan that could enable surveillance of journalists, politicians, and economists.
The reports, published by journalist Hugo Alconada Mon in the newspaper La Nación, detail a leaked national intelligence plan from Argentina’s State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE). The document outlines broad intelligence goals such as preventing terrorism and combating organized crime, but also contains “generalizations, gray areas, and ambiguities,” according to Alconada Mon. “For example, the SIDE is authorized to collect information on anyone who seeks to ‘erode’ public confidence in officials responsible for national security,” the article notes. However, it remains unclear whether this refers to foreign agents or to experts, journalists, and citizens critical of the national security minister’s actions. President Milei’s office confirmed the existence of a new intelligence strategy on May 25 but firmly denied that it includes any provisions for domestic surveillance of dissenting voices. Alconada Mon — one of Argentina’s most respected investigative journalists and deputy editor at La Nación — said he verified the authenticity of the 170-page document through two independent sources. (CNN)
