Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Perfil

WORLD | 15-09-2024 09:17

US claims Russia tried to destabilise Javier Milei's government in Argentina

United States government accuses Russian media outlet RT of being a "de facto arm of Russia's intelligence apparatus" and claimed it had been deployed to "destabilise" Argentina's government.

A factsheet issued by the US State Department alleged that Russia had conducted operations that were intended to destabilise President Javier Milei's government in Argentina and ramp up tensions with Argentina's neighbours.

No specific details were provided about the alleged operations, though President Milei's strong support for Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia is believed to be related to the matter.

The news came as top US diplomat Antony Blinken on Friday accused Russian media outlet RT of being a "de facto arm of Russia's intelligence apparatus" being used against countries around the world.

"We know that RT possesses cyber capabilities and engaged in covert information influence operations and military procurement," the US secretary of state told reporters.

"Russian weaponisation of disinformation to subvert and polarise free and open societies extends to every part of the world," Blinken said.

"We urge every ally, every partner, to start by treating RT's activities as they do other intelligence activities by Russia within their borders," he added, welcoming such an initiative being undertaken jointly by the United States, Britain and Canada.

Earlier this month, US authorities announced a battery of measures including sanctions and potential prosecution targeting Russian media over alleged attempts to interfere in this year's US elections.

The State Department at that time imposed visa restrictions affecting media group Rossiya Segodnya, which includes RT, as well as others of its affiliates.

Moscow responded sarcastically to Blinken's latest remarks, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova saying on Telegram: "There should be a new profession in the United States – a specialist in sanctions against Russia."

RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan said she was waiting "with popcorn" ahead of Blinken's statement to reporters.

"The State Department will declare us the world's best spies. Be ready," she posted on Telegram.

RT, a news organ launched in 2005, is widely considered abroad to be a vehicle for Kremlin propaganda.

RT has been available to view on Argentine television channels since 2014, following an agreement inked by the Russian state and Argentina's government in 2014, under the presidency of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. 

On Friday, the US State Department emphasised that the group's efforts at destabilisation extend far beyond the United States, singling out actions affecting Moldova, Argentina, France, Germany and parts of Africa.

It said the Russian government this spring "embedded within RT an entity with cyber operational capabilities and ties to Russian intelligence."

It added: "This cyber entity has focused primarily on influence and intelligence operations all over the world."

One RT project was a vast online crowd-funding programme designed to help provide military equipment for Russian units in Ukraine.

Blinken said the programme had procured sniper rifles, body armor, night-vision goggles, drones and radio equipment for the Russian invaders.

Jamie Rubin, who heads a US State Department unit meant to counter propaganda and disinformation, said RT was "not just a fire hose, as the Secretary put it, of disinformation, but a fully fledged member of the intelligence apparatus and operation of the Russian government on the war in Ukraine." 

The US State department also identified news outlets allegedly run by RT, citing two websites: African Stream and Berlin-based English-language platform Red.

 

Comments

More in (in spanish)