The National Government moved forward with a deep restructuring of the Argentine intelligence system through DNU 941/2025, signed by President Javier Milei. The objective of this renewal is to organize, professionalize, and make transparent an area that for decades operated with discretion, overlapping functions, and limited institutional oversight.
The reform of the State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE) introduces substantial changes to the National Intelligence Law and is part of a broader policy of ordering the State. The aim is to ensure that public resources serve the interests of Argentines and not opaque structures.
A system focused on its essential mission
The Executive Branch explained that the central function of any intelligence system is the production of strategic information to assist democratically elected authorities. In that vein, the official statement keeps that the objective of the reform is "to narrow, define, and clarify with precision both the structure and the powers of the National Intelligence System," adapting it to the challenges of the 21st century.
The decree reduces powers in order to focus SIDE exclusively on intelligence and counterintelligence tasks. This makes clear that the agency doesn't have police, judicial, or domestic security functions. This way, roles historically assigned without institutional support are eliminated, which contributed to disorder and lack of oversight.
Clear counterintelligence without political use
One of the central pillars of the reform is the redefinition of counterintelligence. The National Security Agency is renamed National Counterintelligence Agency. This way, it is limited exclusively to the protection of the State against espionage, sabotage, or interference by external actors.
According to the official statement, counterintelligence is defined "in a clear and exhaustive manner as the function intended to protect the Argentine State against intelligence, espionage, or interference actions by external agents." This puts an end to past practices in which State resources were used for internal political persecution or domestic espionage.
