Government appoints new human rights undersecretary

The government officially announced Alberto Baños’ resignation as human rights secretary on Thursday. He will be replaced by Joaquín Ignacio Mogaburu, an attorney who has been working as head of the human rights area within the defense ministry. Baños’ departure had been confirmed by a justice ministry source to the Herald last week. A justice ministry statement published Wednesday said that the undersecretary was leaving due to “personal reasons,” highlighting that Baños “put an end to an oversized structure” within the department. Baños was the government’s first human rights secretary, and later undersecretary after the department was demoted. He accepted the role due to his years-long friendship with Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona. Baños, who retired as a judge before his government post, chose to end his public activity to be “more calm,” the justice ministry source said. In the official statement, the Milei administration said that Mogaburu’s appointment kicks off a “new stage” in the human rights area. The announcement was made on December 10, which is International Human Rights Day and also a new anniversary of the return of democracy to Argentina. The justice ministry went on to say that Mogaburu will “deepen the rearrangement of the area” initially carried out by Baños, which included budget cuts, a structure shrinkage, and mass layoffs. “These measures contribute to de-ideologize public policies in the human rights area and guarantee a more transparent and responsible administration.” Who is Joaquín Mogaburu Mogaburu is a lawyer with a postgraduate degree on human rights with several years of experience in the judiciary. In order to take on his role in the defense ministry, he had asked for a leave of absence from his work at the judiciary. He is expected to renew that request to take on his current post. Justice Secretary Sebastián Amerio said he personally offered the job to Mogaburu. “I summoned him because I know he has the clarity and conviction necessary to carry out the guidelines defined by President Javier Milei for the second stage of the government,” Amerio said in a statement sent to journalists by the justice ministry. The fact that Amerio chose Mogaburu is indicative of changes coming within the justice ministry, as minister Cúneo Libarona is rumored to be leaving the government soon. According to an article by seasoned human rights journalist Luciana Bertoia in newspaper Página/12, Mogaburu had been working closely in the defense ministry alongside activists who promote the idea of “complete memory” — a phrase often used by denialist groups that support the so-called “two-demon theory” of the last military dictatorship, a rhetorical device that equates the violence of the Armed Forces and left-wing armed groups. The article states that, throughout 2025, Mogaburu gave workshops for military personnel alongside Silvia Ibarzábal and Arturo Larrabure, who are both the children of military members murdered during a guerrilla attack in 1974. The pair currently work in the defense ministry’s human rights area and have advocated publicly for giving house arrest to convicted dictatorship criminals. Silvia Ibarzábal (left), Arturo Larrabure (second from the right) and Joaquín Mogaburu (right)