Far-right paramilitary group dismantled in Argentina on September 25

Reports indicate that security forces carried simultaneous raids in various locales in the provinces of Córdoba, Mendoza, Buenos Aires, and Santa Fe. Sources in the security services distributed images displaying an arsenal that was purportedly seized during the raids, including shotguns, ammunition, and flak jackets. False documents, military insignia, and pro-Nazi books were also reportedly found. The raids were ordered following an investigation by Argentina’s Antiterrorist Intelligence Unit (DIA). Government officials reportedly indicated that the group is integrated by former associates of Mohamed Alí Seineldín, a deceased far-right nationalist who commanded small-scale uprisings against democratically-elected governments in 1988 and 1990.

The Argentinean Military has traditionally been regarded as a bulwark of far-right nationalism in the country. While the Armed Forces have lost much of their former influence, especially since the end of the last Military Junta which governed the country between 1976 and 1983, sympathy for the far-right likely persists in their ranks. That said, stringent civilian oversight and funding cuts in the Military have drastically reduced the probability of armed uprisings in the country since the early 90s. Although the aforementioned group is probably integrated by former servicemen tied to Seineldín, there is no indication that it planned to carry out armed operations, which remain overall highly unlikely. In this sense, taking into account the considerably lesser role the Military plays in public affairs in the country since the Cold War, the risk of far-right violence stemming from former combatants is low.