Argentina cabinet reshuffle: Milei appoints new security and defense ministers

Alejandra Monteoliva will become Argentina’s next security minister and Lieutenant General Carlos Alberto Presti, the new defense minister, the president’s communications team announced on Saturday afternoon. They will replace Patricia Bullrich and Luis Petri, who were elected to Congress in October’s mid-term elections. The appointment of Presti, currently head of the Argentine army, marks the first time since the end of the dictatorship in 1983 that a top military official has been defense minister. Human rights group H.I.J.O.S. noted that Presti’s father, Roque Carlos Presti, was also in the military and stood accused of committing atrocities during the dictatorship, although he had not been convicted of anything by the time he died. A presidential statement said that both new arrivals would continue in the same vein as their predecessors, saying that Monteoliva would continue to focus on Bullrich’s priority areas of “full-frontal combat against narcoterrorism and criminal organizations and maintaining the rule of law and order in the streets.”  Regarding Presti, the statement continued, “for the first time since the return of democracy, a person with an impeccable military career who has reached the highest rank in their branch will lead the ministry that is in charge of national defense and the armed forces.” Monteoliva thanked Milei and Bullrich and promised to work with “honesty, conviction, and the certainty that a safe country is the basis for every Argentine to be at liberty to live, work, and grow.” Since June 2024, Monteoliva has been serving as Bullrich’s security secretary. She has also worked as a security consultant in Honduras and El Salvador. Bullrich highlighted when she announced Monteoliva’s appointment that she “worked on the successful ‘Bukele Model,’” in reference to Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s controversially draconian iron-fisted approach to crime. Bullrich congratulated Monteoliva, tweeting: “you’ll face what’s coming with what defines you: results, courage, and honesty. I thank [Milei] for trusting you and upholding the only doctrine that has put Argentina in order: a hardline approach, clear rules, and a constant truth: whoever does it, pays for it.” Córdoba police strikes Monteoliva was previously Córdoba’s provincial security minister during Juan Schiaretti’s governorship, but was replaced in December 2013 after a series of police strikes led to a wave of lootings. She also served as national director of the Criminal Information Management unit and head of the Federal Forces Special Operations division. Carlos Alberto Presti is currently head of the Argentine army. President Javier Milei appointed him to that role in January 2024, a month after taking office. A lifelong member of the armed forces, he graduated from Argentina’s military college in 1987 and went on to become its director. He also served as head of an aerial assault regiment and commander of a brigade of paratroopers. Petri celebrated Presti’s appointment, posting: “It gives comfort to know that the man who was the head of our army will now continue as our future defense minister! I know he will be remarkable and successful in the role because as part of the team that has accompanied me, I have directly experienced his capability, commitment, and loyalty to the homeland!” Bullrich will take her seat in the senate and Petri will become a deputy on December 10, along with all those elected in October.