The Government of Javier Milei announced the arrest of a Russian citizen accused of leading a structure dedicated to political disinformation and manipulation in networks to influence Argentine public opinion.
In an official statement, the State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE) confirmed that he is the "Russian citizen Dmitri Novikov, linked to disinformation operations in the Dominican Republic”.
“With judicial authorization, he was arrested and expelled from the national territory for being in an irregular migratory situation, having falsified the reasons for his entry and representing a risk to national security,” they explained.
The SIDE statement.
In turn, they revealed details about the detainee's history: "He had previously been expelled from the Dominican Republic for his participation in disinformation activities, linked to an organization with a history of
interference in multiple countries.”
However, as this is an ongoing investigation and to protect the country's strategic interests, SIDE announced that no further details will be released in this regard.
For her part, the Minister of National Security, Alejandra Monteoliva, said through her X account: “WE CAUGHT THE RUSSIAN LEADER OF FAKE NEWS”. In the same message, he explained: “Dmitrii Novikov entered as a tourist, but he came to operate, destabilize and attack our institutions. A threat to the democratic order.”
As explained by the minister, the operation was carried out jointly by the Argentine Federal Police, the National Directorate of Migration and the State Intelligence Secretariat.
The arrest took place in Lanús, in the province of Buenos Aires, after an investigation that made it possible to trace their activities within the country
.
In an officially released video, Alejandra Monteoliva expanded on the details of the case and said: “She entered the country as a tourist, but she didn't come here to tour. It operated in Argentina as part of an international cyberinfluence network, a structure of Russian origin dedicated to political disinformation campaigns and manipulation in networks to influence public opinion
.” The arrested Russian.
The case is framed in the context of complaints about Russian disinformation operations that seek to influence the local political scene and destabilize the Government of Milei. This type of maneuver represents a direct risk to the democratic order
.
With the arrest of Novikov, the libertarian administration reinforces its position to move forward against any attempt at foreign interference in domestic politics.
