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Argentina and the United States launch the Andes-Atlantic Corridor: an infrastructure plan of up to US$ 7,000 million
- 24/09/2026 » 12:03 by cronywell
Argentina and the United States launch the Andes-Atlantic Corridor: an infrastructure plan of up to US$ 7,000 million
Vaca Muerta, mining, railways, ports, energy and digital connectivity are at the center of a financing scheme planned for 2027.
Reading Time: 8–10 minutes
🇦🇷🇺🇸 A new roadmap for Argentina's infrastructure
Argentina and the United States announced on September 23, 2026, in New York, the launch of the Andes-Atlantic Corridor, an initiative aimed at strengthening the infrastructure that connects Argentine productive areas – in particular Vaca Muerta and mining regions in the northwest – with Atlantic ports and international markets. The scheme includes U.S. financing tools of up to US$ 7,000 million by 2027. The announcement was made by Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Landau, within the framework of the High-Level Week of the United Nations General Assembly.
A fundamental point to interpret the announcement is that the US$ 7,000 million is not equivalent to a single disbursement nor does it mean that the entire amount has already been approved. According to the information published about the agreement, it is a framework to mobilize financing for different projects; in particular, EXIM presented a preliminary proposal of up to US$ 6,000 million for the Argentina LNG project, subject to the corresponding procedures and approvals.
💰 What does the US$ 7,000 million really mean?
The figure is the focus of attention because it constitutes the financial ceiling announced for the program during 2027. However, it is worth differentiating three concepts: financing framework, indicative proposal and effective disbursement. The general agreement brings together projects in different stages and does not automatically allocate a certain amount to each work.
|
Component |
Amount/Situation |
What it entails |
|
Andes-Atlantic Corridor |
Up to US$ 7,000 million by 2027 |
Framework for mobilizing financing in strategic projects. |
|
Argentina LNG |
Preliminary proposal of up to US$ 6,000 million |
Financing subject to evaluation and approval by EXIM. |
|
Other projects |
Individual amounts not yet defined |
They include transportation, energy, mining, and digital connectivity. |
⛽ Vaca Muerta and Argentina LNG: the main energy focus
The largest concentration of resources mentioned in the first information is linked to Argentina LNG, the gas export project associated with Vaca Muerta involving YPF, Italy's Eni and XRG, from the United Arab Emirates. According to the published information, around US$ 6,000 million from the US scheme could support this project, while its total estimated investment throughout the development is much higher.
The first phase of Argentina LNG contemplates floating liquefaction units off Río Negro. The objective is to convert part of Vaca Muerta's gas production into LNG for export, which requires integrated infrastructure: production, pipelines, processing, liquefaction and terminals.
🚆 Railways, Ports and Waterways
The corridor is not limited to hydrocarbons. The understanding also identifies the need to rehabilitate and expand railways, waterways and ports to reduce the logistical bottlenecks that make it more expensive to move raw materials to international markets.
· Waterway and river logistics.
· Freight railways, including projects related to Belgrano Cargas and other lines.
· Possible rail connections between Vaca Muerta and Bahía Blanca.
· Port infrastructure and export output capacity.
· Oil and gas pipelines to expand energy transport capacity.
⚡ Electricity and energy infrastructure
Export expansion requires more than pipelines. The program contemplates electricity generation and transmission infrastructure, with references to projects such as AMBA I. The economic logic is to integrate energy production with networks capable of accompanying greater industrial and export activity.
⛏️ Lithium, copper and critical minerals
Northwestern Argentina occupies a central place in the mining dimension of the corridor. Lithium and copper appear among the resources considered strategic, in an international context in which governments and companies seek to diversify supply chains of minerals used in energy, electricity and industrial technologies. The challenge for Argentina is not only to extract minerals: it also includes infrastructure, processing, logistics, energy and investment conditions that allow geological resources to be transformed into export value chains.
🌐 The digital dimension: fibre, telecommunications and ARSAT
The infrastructure of the 21st century also travels through cables and networks. The agreement incorporates digital connectivity, telecommunications, fiber optics and projects related to ARSAT. This dimension seeks to accompany the productive expansion with greater data transmission capacity and secure connectivity.
🏗️ How could financing work?
The U.S. role is not limited to providing capital. The tools mentioned include EXIM mechanisms and the possibility of participation by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), in addition to private capital. It is also envisaged that U.S. companies will be able to compete in tenders or participate as contractors and subcontractors. This means that the program can combine financing, guarantees, insurance, provision of technology, equipment, and business participation.
🔎 What still needs to be defined
· The final allocation of the remaining funds after the main component of Argentina LNG.
· The projects that will receive effective financing and their execution schedules.
· The final financial conditions of each operation.
· Necessary approvals from U.S. agencies, especially where applicable to EXIM.
· The bidding, concession or contracting processes for each work.
· The technical, environmental, regulatory and feasibility studies that correspond to each project.
📈 Why can the corridor be relevant to the Argentine economy?
The potential relevance lies in the integration of several pieces that are usually analyzed separately: energy production + mining + transportation + ports + electricity + digital connectivity. If these networks increase their capacity in a coordinated manner, they could reduce physical export restrictions and improve Argentina's ability to place oil, gas, and minerals in foreign markets. However, these effects depend on projects moving from announcements and financial frameworks to contracts, works, and operations actually executed.
🌎 An initiative with a geo-economic dimension
The Andes-Atlantic Corridor should also be read within an international trend: the construction of economic corridors that link natural resources, logistics infrastructure and strategic supply chains. The United States has promoted corridor schemes in other regions through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI). The Argentine announcement is presented as the first initiative of that association in the Western Hemisphere, according to officials and sources quoted by Argentine media.
⚖️ Opportunities and challenges
|
Potential opportunities |
Challenges to be solved |
|
Increased energy and mineral export capacity |
Convert financial announcements to executed projects |
|
Logistical improvements and reduced bottlenecks |
Define priorities, amounts, and timelines |
|
Access to finance and technology |
Comply with approval processes and financial structuring |
|
Participation of suppliers and investors |
Resolve regulatory, environmental and contractual aspects |
|
Increased energy and digital connectivity |
Coordinate infrastructure projects that depend on each other |
🧭 The key: moving from ad to execution
The most important data to follow over the next few months will not only be the number of US$ 7,000 million, but also which projects are approved, what contracts are signed, what financing is disbursed and what works are actually started. The planned visit of U.S. officials to Argentina and the definition of concrete projects will be relevant stages to measure the evolution of the program.
📌 Conclusion
The Andes-Atlantic Corridor proposes a reorganization of Argentina's infrastructure around a central idea: connecting strategic resources with international markets through an integrated network of energy, transport, ports and technology. The framework of up to US$ 7,000 million by 2027 represents a significant scale, but its economic impact will depend on the transformation of that framework into approved financing, private investments, tenders, contracts and completed works. For Argentina, the challenge will be to take advantage of infrastructure to increase productive and export capacity, while for investors and financial organizations the central issue will be the technical, economic, regulatory and financial viability of each project.
🖼️ Suggested images for the article
For web publishing, it is recommended to use images whose license or authorization of use has been verified. These sources contain visual material related to the advertisement and/or the broker:
LA NACIÓN — announcement of the Andes-Atlantic Corridor: https://www.lanacion.com.ar/economia/estados-unidos-y-la-argentina-lanzan-un-ambicioso-corredor-de-infraestructura-con-financiamiento-por-nid23092026/
Forbes Argentina — Broker Launch: https://www.forbesargentina.com/today/argentina-estados-unidos-lanzaron-plan-conectar-vaca-muerta-mineria-puertos-atlantico-n98610
Infobae — keys and projects of the agreement: https://www.infobae.com/economia/2026/09/24/corredor-andes-atlantico-las-diez-claves-para-entender-el-acuerdo-de-inversiones-que-la-argentina-firmo-con-estados-unidos/
🔗 Journalistic sources and references
EXIM Bank of the United States: https://www.exim.gov/
Argentina.gob.ar — Trunk Waterway: https://www.argentina.gob.ar/node/513507
Editorial note: Article prepared with information available as of September 24, 2026. Amounts indicated as "up to" or "preliminary proposal" should not be interpreted as disbursements already made. Financial details and projects may be modified during the structuring and approval of each operation.
|
🌐🇦🇷 INTERNATIONAL NEWS MILEI AT THE UN 2026 The complete discourse, the breaking of the "sacred pact" and the new diplomatic escalation over the Malvinas 🗓️ September 23, 2026 | ⏱️ Reading time: 9 min midire.ar · News Editorial Office |
President Javier Milei spoke Wednesday for the third time before the UN General Assembly in New York, with a 19-minute speech that combined a frontal criticism of the multilateral organization, the vindication of Argentine sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands and a warning about the future of artificial intelligence. The message deepened the tension with the United Kingdom, which responded hours later in the same venue.
|
📅 Date |
Wednesday, September 23, 2026 |
|
📍 Location |
UN Headquarters, New York — 81st General Assembly |
|
⏱️ Duration |
19 minutes |
|
🎯 Central axes |
Criticism of the UN · Claim for Malvinas · Artificial intelligence · Alignment with the West |
|
🗣️ Background |
Milei's third speech before the agency (2024, 2025 and 2026) |
🖼️ UN General Assembly Hall, New York ( Wikimedia Commons)
🌐 Milei returns to the UN rostrum
The Argentine president took the floor before the 81st General Assembly of the United Nations around noon, Argentine time, on the day of the general debate that brings together the heads of state and government of the 193 member countries every September. His presentation came hours after the speeches of Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who warned about what he defined as the most critical moment in the history of the organization, and the American Donald Trump, focused on the advance of artificial intelligence.
It was Milei's third appearance before the plenary since he assumed the presidency in December 2023. In his first speech, in 2024, he questioned the functioning of the body and the 2030 Agenda without mentioning the Malvinas issue; in 2025 he introduced the sovereignty claim for the first time. The 2026 edition took that proposal to a considerably harsher tone.
🗣️ "The sacred pact was broken": criticism of the organization
Milei structured his speech in three axes that he announced at the beginning: first, what the UN should have done and did not do; second, what it should not have done and yet did; and third, his position on the advance of artificial intelligence. He recalled that, 78 years ago, the organization committed itself to defending the sovereignty of nations and offering a forum for the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
"The sacred covenant, in fact, was broken"
— Javier Milei, President of Argentina
On that basis, he described the organization as "useless" and maintained that currently "it only serves to feed a caste of parasites." He argued that the institutions that were supposed to guarantee collective security and human rights did not fulfill that function and, instead, coexisted with the advance of chaos, violence and international terrorism on different global fronts.
🇦🇷🇬🇧 Malvinas, "national cause": resolution 3149 and oil sanctions
The section with the greatest impact of the speech was the one dedicated to the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands. Milei defined the claim of sovereignty as a central issue of Argentine foreign policy and presented it as a concrete example of the distance between the words of international organizations and the deeds.
"Malvinas is a national cause for us"
— Javier Milei, before the General Assembly
The President recalled that 50 years ago the Assembly itself approved resolution 3149, which urges both parties to refrain from introducing unilateral modifications in the situation until the sovereignty dispute is resolved. According to his proposal, the UN failed to ensure that this resolution had practical consequences, which, he maintained, erodes the authority of the organization.
In this context, he ratified the tightening of sanctions on more than 60 foreign companies linked to oil exploration and exploitation projects in the North Malvinas Basin, which he described as illegal for operating without Argentine authorization on resources in the disputed area. He also advanced a step that he had not taken in previous speeches: he explicitly rejected that the inhabitants of the archipelago have a legitimate right to self-determination and described as invalid the referendums held there to define the sovereignty of the territory.
The President once again called on the United Kingdom to reopen bilateral negotiations and to discuss the exploitation of the natural resources of the area, although he clarified that Argentina "is not going to sit and wait" for the UN to act.
🖼️ Topographic map of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) (Wikimedia Commons)
🇬🇧 London's response: Streeting, Burnham and diplomatic tension
Milei's speech came hours after British Prime Minister Andy Burnham in his own speech before the Assembly disavowed Argentina's sovereignty over the South Atlantic and stated that his country will stand firm in the face of any threat to the right of British territories to remain so, in direct reference to the Malvinas.
During the Argentine president's presentation, two members of the British diplomatic mission remained in the room following the simultaneous translation and taking notes. This episode added to an escalation that had begun weeks earlier, when the United Kingdom's Minister of Defense, Wes Streeting, described the islands as British based on the election of their inhabitants and maintained that his government's commitment to the territory is absolute and unwavering.
🌎 Regional Support: The OAS Declaration
Days before the speech at the UN, the Organization of American States (OAS) had adopted, unanimously and by acclamation, a new declaration of support for the Argentine claim, in which it urged the United Kingdom to resume bilateral negotiations suspended for decades. The Argentine Foreign Ministry described the continental support as a relevant sign in the diplomatic strategy promoted by the Government around the Malvinas cause.
🇺🇸🇮🇱 Alignment with the West: the United States, Israel and the meeting with Rubio
Milei ratified before the plenary what he defined as an "unambiguous" alignment with the West, the United States and Israel, based – as he explained – on a coincidence of values and strategic interests. After his speech, he held a meeting with the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, in which, according to reports, Washington's support for the Argentine position in the Malvinas dispute and the bilateral relationship in general were discussed.
Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno completed the message to the British representatives present at the organization, whom he urged to comply with their obligations in terms of decolonization, and described the presidential speech as forceful with respect to the defense of Western values and economic freedom.
🤖 Artificial intelligence: "The West must lead" the technological future
The third axis of the speech was dedicated to artificial intelligence. Milei argued that it is necessary for the West to lead global technological development and affirmed that Argentina will seek to position itself as a pole of development in the matter, joining the transformation underway. On that point he agreed, although from a different perspective, with Trump, who had dedicated a good part of his own speech to defending the advance of AI and proposing a new name for its most advanced capabilities.
The Argentine president spoke out against States assuming centralized control of this technology and stated that its development should be left in the hands of the private sector and decentralized innovation, in line with the free market principles that characterize its management.
📊 Milei's three speeches to the UN (2024-2026)
A comparison of the central axes that the President raised in each of his speeches before the General Assembly since he took office:
|
Edition |
Central axis |
Malvinas |
|
2024 |
Criticism of socialism, the welfare state and the UN 2030 Agenda |
No explicit mention of the cause |
|
2025 |
Claim for the first time of international support for sovereignty over the archipelago |
First formal claim of sovereignty before the plenary |
|
2026 |
Breaking the UN's "sacred pact", AI and alignment with the West |
"National cause", oil sanctions and rejection of island self-determination |
🖼️ Javier Milei, President of the Argentine Republic (Wikimedia Commons)
🔍 What changes compared to previous editions
The tone of the 2026 speech marked a leap from the previous two. If in 2024 the criticism focused on ideological issues and in 2025 the claim for the Malvinas was moderately added, this year the government decided to combine the diplomatic offensive – sanctions on companies, rejection of the self-determination of the islanders – with a more severe institutional criticism of the very body that hosts the claim. Foreign policy specialists quoted in the press coverage agree that the strategy sought to capitalize on the recent support of the OAS and raise the political cost for the United Kingdom at a time of greater international exposure of the dispute.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
❓ When did Javier Milei speak at the UN in 2026?
The Argentine president addressed the 81st UN General Assembly on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, around noon Argentine time, at the headquarters in New York.
❓ What did Milei say about the Falkland Islands?
It defined the sovereignty claim as a "national cause," ratified sanctions on more than 60 companies for oil exploitation in the disputed area, rejected the validity of the referendums on self-determination held in the archipelago and called on the United Kingdom to reopen bilateral negotiations.
❓ How did the UK respond to the speech?
Prime Minister Andy Burnham had earlier ignored Argentine sovereignty in his own speech to the UN, and Defense Minister Wes Streeting previously maintained that the islands are British because their inhabitants choose to.
❓ What is resolution 3149 that Milei mentioned?
It is a resolution approved by the UN General Assembly 50 years ago that urges Argentina and the United Kingdom to refrain from introducing unilateral modifications in the situation of the Malvinas while the sovereignty dispute continues.
❓ What did the President propose about artificial intelligence?
He argued that the West must lead global technological development, opposed centralized state control of AI and anticipated that Argentina will seek to become a pole of development in the matter.
IMF returns to Argentina: third review of agreement begins as tension grows over poverty data
- 19/09/2026 » 10:18 by cronywell
ECONOMY · ARGENTINA · IMF
IMF returns to Argentina: third review of agreement begins as tension grows over poverty data
A technical mission from the agency arrives in Buenos Aires on Monday to audit fiscal and reserve targets and unlock about US$900 million. At the same time, the government is waiting for the INDEC report that could mark the first six-month increase in poverty during Javier Milei's administration.
🕒 Reading time: 5 minutes | 📅 September 19, 2026 | ✍️ Economy Editorial Team
A technical mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will disembark this Monday, September 21, in Buenos Aires to begin the third review of the Extended Facilities (EFF) program in force with Argentina, a key step to enable a new transfer of funds in the midst of a calendar full of maturities and just hours before the INDEC releases a poverty data that anticipates a social setback.
The delegation, led by the head of mission for Argentina, Joyce Wong, will hold meetings with the economic team to evaluate compliance with the quantitative goals set for the end of June, as planned in the official schedule of the organization. The meeting comes in an atypical week for the government: the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, will not be present at the start of the talks because he will travel with President Javier Milei to New York to participate in the United Nations General Assembly.
💵 A disbursement of almost US$900 million at stake
The review is part of the $20 billion arrangement approved in April 2025 under the Fund's Extended Facility, with total access to around $21 billion. By May, at the close of the second review and Article IV consultation, the IMF board had released a disbursement of close to $1 billion, bringing the program's cumulative drawings to about $15.8 billion.
Of the US$1,900 million programmed for all of 2026, there would remain about US$900 million subject to the result of this new assessment, equivalent to 636 million of Special Drawing Rights. The disbursement is not automatic: first the technical talks must advance and then the review needs the endorsement of the Executive Board of the organization in Washington.
"The Fund monitors the delinquency of Argentine households, but does not consider it a risk to the stability of the financial system."
🏦 Reserves: an overachieved goal
The exchange rate front appears as one of the most favorable data for the government. The program set a net foreign exchange purchase guideline of US$10 billion for 2026, and the Central Bank has already accumulated more than US$14.2 billion, some US$4.2 billion above that reference. As for the specific net reserves target, set at US$8 billion, different private consultants place the current level at close to US$9 billion, also above what was agreed.
📉 Fiscal balance, the most discussed point
The agreement contemplates a primary surplus equivalent to 1.4% of GDP for all of 2026. However, in the first half of the year, the fiscal result stood at 0.6% of GDP, just below the proportional half of that annual target. Among the factors that explain the deviation, the government itself mentions changes in the payment terms of income tax, weaker collection linked to tax cuts and the slowdown in economic activity. For this reason, revenue, public spending, tax changes and the progress of the real economy will be at the center of the technical discussion in Buenos Aires.
⏳ Deadlines just around the corner
🔸 Friday, September 25: maturity with the IMF for US$803 million.
🔸 November 2026: new payment of US$840 million.
🔸 December 2026: additional commitment of US$344 million.
The payment schedule makes this review a particularly sensitive instance: the technical approval not only enables new funds, but also reinforces the program's sustainability signal in the face of commitments that expire in the coming weeks.
📊 The other magnifying glass: the poverty data that is known on September 24
In parallel to the technical negotiation, INDEC will publish on September 24 the poverty index for the first half of 2026, prepared from the Permanent Household Survey. Different private estimates anticipate a rise in the indicator, which would go from 28.2% recorded in the second half of 2025 to a range of between 30% and 31.6%. If confirmed, it would be the first six-month increase in poverty during Javier Milei's administration.
According to calculations by the consulting firm ExQuanti, the number of people under the poverty line would go from 13.4 million to 15.1 million in just six months, an increase of 1.7 million new poor. The nowcast of the Torcuato Di Tella University projects 31.6%, while the Social Debt Observatory of the UCA had estimated 30% for the first quarter of the year. The government itself admits that the number could be between 30% and 31%.
The contrast with the financial negotiation does not go unnoticed: while the IMF highlights the over-fulfillment of reserve targets, the social front shows signs of deterioration that could affect the political reading of the program and the discussion on the design of the next disbursements.
🗓️ What to expect in the coming weeks
The technical teams of the Fund and the Ministry of Finance will hold meetings over the next few days in Buenos Aires. If the talks progress smoothly, the review could be submitted to the Executive Board in Washington in the following weeks, thus enabling the pending disbursement before the end of the year and simultaneously with the maturities of November and December.
🖼️ REFERENCE IMAGE (absolute link to the original source)
See reference photograph — Photo: AP Photo / Gustavo Garello, published in Todo Jujuy
🔑 The key numbers of the review
|
Total EFF Settlement Amount |
US$ 20,000-21,000 M |
|
Accumulated disbursement to date |
≈ US$ 15,800 M |
|
At stake in this 3rd review |
≈ US$ 900 M |
|
Fiscal surplus target 2026 |
1.4% of GDP |
|
Fiscal Result 1st Half 2026 |
0.6% of GDP |
|
BCRA net purchase target |
US$ 10,000 M |
|
Net purchases already made |
US$ 14,200 M |
|
Net reserves goal 2026 |
US$ 8,000 M |
|
IMF maturity, 09/25/2026 |
US$ 803 M |
|
Projected poverty, 1st week 2026 |
30% - 31,6% |
|
Official INDEC publication |
September 24, 2026 |
🔗 Sources consulted
🔹 Diario Río Negro — The IMF begins the third review of the agreement with Argentina
🔹 All of Jujuy — The IMF arrives in Argentina: reserves and surpluses under the magnifying glass
🔹 MDZ Online (EFE) — The IMF returns to Argentina for the third review of the agreement
🔹 Profile — IMF to Send Mission to Argentina Next Week
🔹 Cadena Laser (via TN) — An IMF mission will begin a new review on Monday
🔹 The Chancellor — The central points that will be evaluated in the third review
🔹 El Economista — Poverty skyrocketed in Argentina: 1.7 million new poor
🔹 iProfesional — Poverty estimated to have grown in the first half of 2026
⚖️ MALVINAS SOVEREIGNTY LAW PENALTIES FOR "DISINFORMATION" AND ALARM FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
- 18/09/2026 » 16:30 by cronywell
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⚖️ MALVINAS SOVEREIGNTY LAW PENALTIES FOR "DISINFORMATION" AND ALARM FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION Repercussions of the official bill that reached Congress Penalties of up to 20 years in prison provided for in the bill 📰 midire.ar |
Malvinas: Government bill provides for jail time for "disinformation" and raises alarm for freedom of expression
🕒 Estimated reading time: 9 minutes 📅 Updated: September 19, 2026
On Thursday, September 17, the Executive Branch sent to the Chamber of Deputies the draft Law for the Defense of National Sovereignty, presented as a response to the advance of unauthorized oil exploitation in the Malvinas Basin and the long-standing dispute with the United Kingdom. But an article housed in that same text, without direct relation to the territorial claim, unleashed in less than 24 hours a controversy that transcends the issue of the islands: the creation of a new criminal offense for "massive disinformation campaigns", with penalties of between five and up to twenty years in prison, depending on the aggravating circumstance applied.
🗺️ The context: a law that was born for oil companies
The project was announced by President Javier Milei on national television and comes as a corollary of a series of measures – including Decree 868/2026 – aimed at toughening sanctions against companies and individuals who exploit hydrocarbons or other resources around the Malvinas Islands without Argentine authorization, reforming the so-called "Solanas Law" (26.659). The initiative also reactivates the construction of an integrated naval base in Tierra del Fuego and creates a new National Security Council, chaired by the President himself, with powers to request information from public agencies and apply an administrative sanctioning regime.
However, within the articles dedicated to "National Security" there are provisions that exceed the declared object of the norm. It is there where the main objections of constitutionalists, opposition legislators and journalistic entities are concentrated.
📜 Article 111: the core of the controversy
The central point of controversy is Article 111 of the bill, which incorporates a new Article 225 bis to the Penal Code. The law establishes penalties of between five and twelve years in prison for anyone who, acting on behalf of, order or total or partial financing of a State, organization or foreign agent, carries out activities that seek to alter electoral processes or "manipulate public opinion through coordinated campaigns of mass disinformation." The penalty rises to a range of eight to fifteen years when the conduct is committed through threats, bribes, coercion or the use of criminal structures.
The same chapter includes other figures linked to national security: Article 109 provides for five to fifteen years in prison for anyone who transmits secrets to a foreign State or intelligence service, a scale that rises to between eight and twenty years in the context of armed conflict or external aggression; Article 110 punishes with three to ten years anyone who provides material support to a clandestine foreign intelligence operation. Article 88 classifies as an infraction of National Security the "clandestine, deceptive or coercive" interference of a foreign actor in the decision-making process of the Argentine authorities, while Articles 90 and 97 grant the new National Security Council the power to act as an enforcement authority and to take urgent measures – including exchange restrictions and freezing of assets – in the face of a threat classified as "serious and imminent", even before formally initiating a sanctioning procedure.
|
Crime / figure |
Minimum penalty |
Maximum penalty |
|
New figure of "mass disinformation" (art. 111, basic) |
5 years |
12 years |
|
New figure of "mass disinformation" (aggravated) |
8 years |
15 years |
|
Simple homicide (Penal Code in force) |
8 years |
25 years |
|
Extortion (Penal Code in force) |
5 years |
10 years |
|
Kidnapping for extortion (Penal Code in force) |
5 years |
15 years |
|
Fraud against the public administration |
2 years |
6 years |
|
Transmission of secrets to a foreign power (art. 109, aggravated) |
8 years |
20 years |
The comparison of criminal scales was one of the central arguments of the criticism: the minimum of the aggravated figure of "disinformation" equals the minimum provided for simple homicide, and far exceeds that of fraud against the public administration, a crime for which former President Cristina Kirchner was sentenced to the maximum of that scale in the Vialidad case.
|
⚖️ "There are clear risks of prior censorship through what is called the intimidating effect. The fear of a criminal type of these characteristics makes you start to be careful about what you are going to say." — Andrés Gil Domínguez, constitutionalist |
🚨 The voices of alarm
Constitutionalist Andrés Gil Domínguez questioned the fact that the criminal figure is "open and indeterminate," in tension with the principle of criminal legality that requires restrictive and closed types, and warned that the problem is not only of proportionality of the penalties but of substance: in his opinion, the rule is formally unconstitutional and affects the freedom of expression of a democratic system. Another constitutionalist consulted, Félix Lonigro, pointed out that the article opens the door to the prosecution of those who simply criticize the government with data that the authority of the day considers to be "misinforming," and linked it to a setback with respect to the historical elimination of the figure of contempt.
Lawyer Diego Armesto focused on the repeated use of the word "threat" within the bill, a concept that – unlike "aggression", which is more objectively verifiable – leaves a margin of discretion in the hands of the official or enforcement agency, which in his opinion could lead to a borderline case of prior censorship.
On the legislative level, Deputy Nicolás Trotta (Union for the Homeland), vice president of the Freedom of Expression Commission of the lower house, warned that the breadth of the new criminal type could turn it into a tool of censorship and persecution against opponents, journalists and media, and announced that he will promote the rejection of those articles during the debate, in addition to asking that the commission — chaired by La Libertad Avanza and which only met once this year — specifically deal with the chapter. Deputy Mónica Frade (Civic Coalition) described the initiative as unconstitutional because of its "vague and open criminal types" that affect the guarantee of defense enshrined in Article 18 of the Constitution, while her peers Maximiliano Ferraro and the radical Pablo Juliano expressed similar reservations about the risk that political complaints end up leading to criminal cases.
The Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA) issued an institutional warning and called for a restrictive delimitation of expressions such as "manipulating public opinion" and "disinformation", in addition to specific guarantees to protect criticism and journalistic information.
🔗 Complete coverage of the controversy over Article 111 and the voices consulted. [See source] — Infobae, 18/09/2026
🏛️ The official response
Consulted by the press, official sources maintained that the project was designed within the institutional functioning provided for by the Constitution and that any decision adopted by the Executive Branch or the National Security Council will be subject to judicial control. The government rejects that the new body can act as a power without limits and stresses that it is an administrative sanctioning regime with procedures, the right of defense and the possibility of review before the Courts. They also argue that the new tools respond to "non-kinetic" threats – clandestine operations, foreign influence – that are no longer limited to conventional military aggression, and that there are precedents in legislation of other countries in matters of national security. Legislators from La Libertad Avanza, for their part, relativized the impact of the initiative and pointed out that the final text can still be modified during its parliamentary treatment.
⏭️ What's next in Congress
The bill was introduced by the Chamber of Deputies and is expected to be discussed in committee between the end of September and the beginning of October. The opposition has already announced that it will seek that the Freedom of Expression Commission analyze in particular the chapter on National Security, and that – if it is not convened by the presidency, in charge of La Libertad Avanza – it will promote an informal meeting with journalistic entities outside that channel. The parliamentary debate will have to resolve, among other points, what constitutes a "coordinated campaign of mass disinformation," how the link with foreign financing or agents will be proven, the proportionality of the penalties compared to other crimes in the Penal Code and the scope of the powers of the new National Security Council.
🔗 Background to the project: the announcement on national television and the package of sanctions on oil companies in the Malvinas. [See source] — Profile
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
❓ What is the draft Law for the Defense of National Sovereignty?
It is an initiative sent by the Executive Branch to Congress on September 17, 2026 that toughens sanctions against those who exploit resources in the Malvinas Islands without Argentine authorization, creates a National Security Council and reactivates a naval base in Tierra del Fuego.
❓ What exactly does the article in question establish?
Article 111 incorporates Article 225 bis into the Penal Code, with penalties of 5 to 12 years in prison (and 8 to 15 in its aggravated form) for anyone who, on behalf of or financed by a foreign actor, carries out coordinated mass disinformation campaigns or seeks to manipulate public opinion or alter electoral processes.
❓ Why does it generate concern among journalists and constitutionalists?
Because the criminal type does not define precisely what constitutes "disinformation" or "manipulation of public opinion," which — according to the specialists consulted — could generate an intimidating effect and lead to self-censorship or political persecution, despite always requiring a connection with foreign financing or agents.
❓ How did the government respond to these criticisms?
Official sources maintain that all decisions will be subject to judicial control, that it is an administrative regime with defense guarantees, and that the new figures respond to unconventional external threats, with precedents in other countries.
❓ When will the bill be debated in Congress?
The treatment in committees of the Chamber of Deputies is expected between the end of September and the beginning of October 2026; the opposition asked that the Freedom of Expression Commission specifically analyze the chapter on National Security.