President Javier Milei enacted DNU 941/2025, amending the National Intelligence Law and expanding the powers of the State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE), including the ability to make arrests without judicial orders. The opposition, led by Unión por la Patria and experts like Andrés Gil Domínguez and Jorge Taiana, condemns it as an authoritarian shift that could lead to a police state. The government defends the reform as a necessary modernization to address 21st-century threats.
On January 2, 2026, the Official Gazette published Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) 941/2025, promoted by President Javier Milei, which reforms the National Intelligence Law 25.520. This measure reorganizes the SIDE, expanding its functions in counterintelligence and allowing its agents to apprehend individuals in the course of operations without prior judicial orders. It also mandates the entire National Public Sector to adopt security measures defined by the SIDE and autonomizes military intelligence from civilian oversight by the Ministry of Defense.
The opposition reacted strongly. Deputies from Unión por la Patria, led by Lorena Pokoik and Germán Martínez, introduced a resolution project to reject the DNU, arguing it violates due process, separation of powers, and constitutional guarantees. Agustín Rossi, former SIDE head, called it an “assault on basic individual guarantees” and warned it turns the agency into a “secret police.” Maximiliano Ferraro from Unidos questioned the lack of parliamentary debate and the risk of total control over rights and freedoms.
Experts like constitutionalist Andrés Gil Domínguez described it as “the definitive shift toward consolidating the neofascist model,” criticizing Article 2 quater for evoking military dictatorship practices. “These processes leave serious wounds to the democratic system that take a long time to heal,” he stated on X. Meanwhile, deputy Jorge Taiana warned that “the consequence will be a police state that will persecute and control opponents,” and pointed to the transformation of the Armed Forces into a National Guard.
The government, via a SIDE statement, justified the changes as part of a “second generation” intelligence system, eliminating overlaps and adapting it to modern threats. It emphasized internal transparency and a “limited and professional” state. Opponents demand the urgent formation of bicameral oversight commissions to review the decree, which will reach Congress in February.
