Milei allows intelligence agents to arrest people in new SIDE restructure

President Javier Milei has carried out a widespread reform of Argentina’s intelligence system, granting spies more power and deepening the secrecy of their activities, via a decree published on Friday in the Official Gazette. Intelligence agents will be allowed to arrest people on the spot — something that till now was reserved for police officers and military police only — and all their activities will be considered “covert.” In addition, the State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE) will have the power to ask the armed forces to perform interior intelligence tasks. Opposition members expressed concern over the reform, saying that with these changes, intelligence services could be used for political espionage. They also argued such an important reform should have been debated in Congress, and accused the government of making changes when Parliament is on summer break.  “If the president wanted to reform a law, he could have and should have sent a bill to Congress. He didn’t,” said deputy Maximiliano Ferraro, from center party Coalición Cívica, in an X post on Thursday, after details of the decree were published by the press. “He doesn’t like governing according to the Constitution, because it is an obstacle for him, and he will always prefer a shortcut.” This is the second major reform of Argentina’s intelligence system since Milei became president. In July 2024, he issued a decree to turn the former Federal Intelligence Agency into a secretariat, granting it more power and more resources.  The name chosen for the secretariat, SIDE, is the same one it had decades ago until it was dissolved amid accusations of corruption and illegal endeavors, as well as ties to the state terror of the last military dictatorship. Milei’s decree The new presidential “decree of necessity and urgency” (DNU) states that the National Intelligence System, which includes the SIDE and other departments dedicated to similar activities, can arrest people “in the context of intelligence activities, judicial assistance or requests, or the commission of crimes when caught in the act, and must immediately notify the competent Police and Security Forces.” Under the new regulations, intelligence agents will also protect their own offices, staff, property and information, and can engage in actions to “repel or stop attacks that put them at risk.” The decree does not clarify what this entails. The government’s order also states that all intelligence activities will now be undercover on the grounds of their sensitive nature and with the goal of protecting national security.  In effect, this means that the SIDE will no longer have to disclose how they use their funds and what activities they do. Until now, the secretariat had to present regular reports to a Congressional commission. (The text does not provide any detail about what those activities could be).  In 2024, the government had given the SIDE US$100 million in extra funds for “confidential purposes,” but Congress forced them to return the funds on the grounds that the government should have informed how such a large amount of money was going to be used In addition, military and security officers can now be summoned to carry out intelligence tasks, but the decree does not give precisions over how many officers can be tasked with those activities or for how long. It also established that the entire national public sector must engage in counter-intelligence tasks to stop leaks or espionage, including in areas that have nothing to do with intelligence. “A police state” Peronist lawmaker and former Defense Minister (2021-2023) Jorge Taiana said that the decree basically aims to “broaden the tasks and goals of the intelligence sector, giving a legal frame to what they already do and what they want to do.” “The consequence will be a police state that will cut several rights and will persecute and control opposition members,” Taiana warned. In the lower house, center blocs Coalición Cívica, Provincias Unidas and Encuentro Federal rejected the decree, saying that there was no “necessity or urgency” to pass such an extensive reform without a debate in Congress.  They stated the regulation further increases the “opacity” of the intelligence sector, going against the spirit of the original version of the law, which established strict limits and guaranteed congressional control. The center blocs, as well as several Peronist lawmakers, called for Congress to overturn the decree. “Intelligence services cannot become a secret police,” the blocs’ statement said.  Congress has the power to overturn presidential DNUs. Both chambers must vote to reject a decree with absolute majority (half plus one of the present lawmakers) for it to be annulled. If one of the chambers green-light it (or if lawmakers end up not casting a vote), the decree will remain in effect. You may also be interested in: Journalist reports intelligence services could target critics, sparking official denial — and alleged hack attempts