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Espionage: Macri government saved profiles of 400 persons

June 10, 2020

Argentina's Federal Intelligence Agency (AFI) has revealed details of espionage on journalists, academics and businessmen.

https://p.dw.com/p/3dbL3
Argentinien Inauguration
Outgoing Argentine President Mauricio Macri passing the symbolic leader's staff to his successor Alberto Fernández in December 2019. Image: Reuters/A. Marcarian

The Federal Intelligence Agency's head, Cristina Cañamo, filed a complaint following the discovery of a hard drive with alleged evidence of illegal e-mail spying on various people. In Argentina, domestic espionage requires a judicial order.

AFI disclosed that more than 400 people were spied on during the previous government of Mauricio Macri in relation to the WTO and G20 summits organized by the South American country. This week, an Excel file was released to the media containing the names and, in some cases, notes on the political stance of the journalists. 

The persons who were allegedly spied on include journalists from Argentina and international media, such as the Associated Press (AP), Reuters and France Presse news agencies and from television stations such as CNN, as well as around 100 academics, businessmen and other civil society figures.

News agency AP contacted Macri's former spokesman, Ivan Pavlovsky, who first said the former president was not going to give a comment and then clarified that he was no longer his spokesman. A press officer from the PRO Argentina party, which is presided over by former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, said he was not on duty and hung up the phone.