Argentina arrests terrorist believed to be linked to Islamic State

The Argentine Security Minister, Patrícia Bullrich, announced this Tuesday (14) the arrest of a man believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State.

The representative of Javier Milei’s government reported that the operation lasted nine months and had the assistance of the Armed Forces, the National Directorate of Criminal Intelligence and the FBI.

The detained man was identified as David Nazareno Ávila, also called “Naza” in the different groups in which he participated, said the Minister of Security. Currently, he was residing in General Roca, in the province of Río Negro.

Bullrich added that Ávila was a “terrorist who converted to Islam in Argentina” and belonged to a “global network of hatred and destruction.”

Argentine intelligence used a “digital disguise” to gain access to the suspect, who allegedly confessed to terrorist actions.

According to the minister, the Argentine undercover agent obtained “direct confessions from the accused”. Furthermore, it discovered “alarming elements”, such as jihadist propaganda, explosives manufacturing manuals, anti-Semitic messages and links with international radicalization networks.

The man allegedly affiliated with the Islamic State would have been active on networks such as Instagram and Telegram, the latter through a group that claimed responsibility for an attack on a school in Ukraine, where 20 people were said to have died, but there is no further information from the Argentine government. about this fact.

One of the contents discovered on Ávila’s cell phone showed a message with instructions for assembling bombs, with the aim of “the Argentine Zionist government obtaining retaliation for its sins”, according to the accused’s text.

“There he not only spread his ideology, but tried to recruit young Argentines who would serve as cannon fodder for these terrorist organizations,” said Bullrich.

“We dismantled a network of hate and terror that tried to infiltrate our society. To characterize them, I will mention a phrase that these radicalized individuals used in their Telegram and WhatsApp groups. The day will come when you will curse me for every Jew I don’t kill”, mentioned the Minister of Security.

The minister chosen by Milei to head the Security portfolio left a message for the terrorists. “We thwarted their plans before they could cause damage (…) We are convinced that, as Milei says, evil advances when good people do nothing. We showed that we are standing, that we can follow and track threats”, he concluded.