Argentina faces a low-intensity biological attack

During the Covid-19 pandemic, despite political controversies, Argentina demonstrated a strong capacity to confront a medium-intensity biological attack throughout its territory .

The prevailing doctrine of our Armed Forces (FFAA), their operational capacity and logistical capabilities, coupled with the socio-political interaction of our Nation in the so-called "Operation General Manuel Belgrano" , the largest troop movement in peacetime, allowed for a rapid response capacity, providing the population with food and healthcare assistance, distribution of medical supplies, strengthening of military healthcare with military hospitals and isolation centers, and transfer of medical, civilian, security, and military personnel.

Framed as a humanitarian assistance operation, a subsidiary mission of the military, the country was divided into 14 emergency regions where the Armed Forces acted in coordination with provincial authorities and national ministries, enabling the emergency to be successfully addressed. The Armed Forces, Security Forces (FFSS), and government and civilian institutions carried out the missions and functions corresponding to their specific roles, helping to guarantee the country's security and stability in the face of the global crisis.

Throughout the operation, the conduct of the armed forces members was impeccable, without a single complaint or claim, consolidating the recovery of the armed forces' image among the population. The total number of casualties among military personnel was 24 officers and non-commissioned officers , which confirms the capabilities of our troops to deal with a low-intensity Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) event. The results in other Latin American countries were very different, including NATO's response capacity to the episode on European soil.

Recovery of public image, but lack of resources

The responsiveness of the Armed Forces in "Operation General Manuel Belgrano" and the clear evidence of the need to increase logistical capabilities led to the implementation of public policies aimed at improving these capabilities. An example of this was the National Defense Fund (FONDEF), a dedicated fund intended to finance the re-equipment of the Armed Forces through the recovery, modernization, and/or incorporation of materiel.

FONDEF was created by Law No. 27,565 in 2020. This law, which is expected to be repealed in 2025, provided a tepid boost to the defense industry, a strategic sector that strongly multiplies economic activity and creates jobs.

Beyond FONDEF's objectives of creating the basis for promoting import substitution, increasing research and development efforts, and fostering productive innovation, the bulk of public investment policies in National Defense implemented from 2015 to date have not increased the capabilities of our Armed Forces.

A clear example of this is the analysis of the latest purchases of weapons systems for our armed forces, which do not include real deterrent capacity in current combat scenarios, nor do they threaten British interests in the Malvinas, which operate from the islands, for example, with Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft and from their aircraft carriers with F-35B Lightning II fighters, not to mention the presence of submarines, a deterrent weapon par excellence that we lack. Much less do the investments made allow for the defense of our coasts (4,700 km in the Americas and more than 11,000 km in Antarctica), either in terms of capabilities, quantities, or technological development.

The political decision of the current national government to give up and develop the Ushuaia Integrated Naval Base in conjunction with the US Armed Forces with funding from the Pentagon (Argentina.gob.ar, 2024) and the statements of the potential US Ambassador, Peter Lamelas , conditioning the capacities of the provinces with respect to their IR and stating that he will work to guarantee that “Argentina’s resources, its energy and its critical minerals, benefit both nations” , puts the Argentine Republic in a situation where it cannot exploit opportunities or have freedom of maneuver.

From soldiers to police officers

The priority in a country with implementation in 2018 of the Protected Borders Program with joint actions between the FFSS and the Armed Forces and the implementation in 2025 of Operation Julio Argentino Roca supported by Decree 1112/2024 which deals with the regulations for the National Defense System in Argentina, in whose Title IV, article 11 states verbatim that the Armed Forces "may proceed to the temporary apprehension of persons who are committing crimes in flagrante" within the framework of operations to fulfill subsidiary missions, runs the axis of the specific missions and functions of the Armed Forces to add them to those of the Gendarmerie, the Prefecture, the Airport Security Police and the Federal Police.

Although it may seem obvious at this point, it is necessary to reaffirm that the Armed Forces' mission is to ward off and repel all external state military aggression in order to permanently guarantee and safeguard the vital interests of the Nation, that is, its sovereignty, independence and self-determination, its territorial integrity, and the life and liberty of its inhabitants. The Armed Forces' primary mission is to guarantee internal security by maintaining public order, preventing and suppressing crimes, controlling borders, and collaborating with justice.

National Guard, Chancay and absence of sovereignty

According to a simple analysis using information obtained from open-source sources (OSINT), the nullification and destruction of capabilities to repel external military aggression in any of the six current dimensions of warfare (land, naval, air, digital, space, and cognitive); the destruction of the social resources of the Armed Forces (IOSFA); and the crisis at the Naval Hospital; the meager current salary scale and the resulting migration of personnel, for example, to the City Police in the case of Buenos Aires; the lack of a budget for operational activity; and the lack or antiquity of equipment and weapons systems, denote the government's lack of interest in developing Argentine military capabilities.

This, coupled with political decisions to bring the Armed Forces closer to the functions of the Armed Forces, provides an indication of a potential restructuring of the nation's defense and security system. A significant issue is the budget management of the Ministries of Defense and Security. According to public or open-source sources, the budget to meet the needs of the national government in 2025 was projected to total $115,924,195.5 million. The Defense budget (including troops, logistics, and weapons systems) is equivalent to 2.1% of the total 2025 annual budget, while the Homeland Security budget is 2.4%.

Conclusion

The possibility of the government merging the Armed Forces and the Armed Forces into a National Guard for internal control, in accordance with the provisions of Decree 1112/2024, within the framework of a new doctrine, is real . There are precedents, during Mauricio Macri's administration, starting with Argentina's incorporation as a signatory to the "State Partnership Program" of the U.S. National Guard in 2016.  (US Department of Defense, 2025) The program is guided by the foreign policy objectives of the State Department, created out of the need to incorporate former Soviet bloc states into American doctrines, a tool of influence at the multi-domain tactical level below conflict with the use of violence.  (National Guard, 2025) .

In the face of the occupation through diplomacy and force of our southern and Antarctic island sector; the projection of strong  North American and British influence and control in Chile; Montevideo's control of the port of Buenos Aires; and the presence of the US Armed Forces in Paraguay and on the Paraná River create a strong power base in the face of the new bioceanic corridor for Chinese investment between the port of Santos in Brazil and the port of Chancay in Peru, seriously jeopardizing the Argentine Republic's ability to maintain its territorial sovereignty.

* Daniel Alberto Symcha is a journalist and producer at the Arturo Jaureche National University (UNAJ) Radio. He is holding a Master's degree in Strategy and Geopolitics from the Higher School of War. He is holding a Master's degree in National Strategic Intelligence from the Faculty of Law at the National University of La Plata. He also holds a Diploma in Communication and National Defense from the UNDEF (National University of La Plata), a Diploma in Press Management from the UDE (National University of La Plata), and a Diploma in Technology, Subjectivity, and Politics from the CLACSO (National University of La Plata).