Argentina's intelligence agency has launched an unprecedented public drive to recruit spies, using retro-style posters featuring the slogan "We're looking for the best".
The AI-generated campaign features a flag-draped young man pointing at passers-by, reminiscent of Uncle Sam in US military recruitment posters, alongside images of a woman at work.
The call is open to Argentines with a secondary-school education and includes assessments and training at the intelligence academy, presidential spokesman Adrián Ravier said on Tuesday.
"We live in a changing and turbulent international context. The world is at war," Ravier said, citing competition between major powers for energy, minerals, food, water and technology.
The campaign bears the logo of the Secretaría de Inteligencia del Estado (State Intelligence Secretariat), better known as SIDE, and has also been promoted on social media.
The agency described the initiative as part of a drive to ensure "transparency and professionalisation" in intelligence careers, based on "merit, training and results."
"Our position in the South Atlantic and our projection towards Antarctica give us strategic value. We have what the world needs and must have the capabilities to protect it," Ravier said.
He did not specify the number of vacancies or employment conditions.
The recruitment drive comes amid a broader reduction in public-sector employment under President Javier Milei.
Since taking office in December 2023, his administration has cut around 81,000 jobs across the national public administration, representing approximately 16 percent of the state workforce.
The SIDE received a second budget increase in September last year, bringing its allocation to around 176 billion pesos (approximately US$112 million), more than 10 times its 2023 budget.
– TIMES/AFP
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