Argentina's Spygate: Macri aide Susana Martinengo, 21 others arrested

Argentine Federal Judge Federico Villena ordered the arrest of 22 intelligence agents and former public officials a part of an ongoing investigation into a massive surveillance scheme carried out under former Argentine President Mauricio Macri.

The scheme, carried out between 2016 and 2019, involved over 500 targets of warrantless surveillance and over $80 million in undeclared expenses by a Federal Intelligence Agency (AFI) team known as the "Super Mario Bros."

Judge Villena described them as "a criminal organization with insertion in national, provincial and local governments."

The targets known thus far include at least 403 journalists, 58 businesspeople, 28 academics, 20 federal lawmakers, and numerous prominent lawyers and other influencers.

Among those also under surveillance were two former presidents - Cristina Kirchner (now vice president), and Eduardo Duhalde - as well as Macri's younger sister Florencia and her boyfriend, Salvatore Pica.

The most prominent officials arrested today include former AFI counterintelligence head Diego Dalmau Pereyra; and longtime Macri aide Susana Martinengo, who collected surveillance reports for the president.

Martinengo, 68, headed the Presidential Documents Office under Macri - who claimed he "didn't know" Martinengo, despite her being his office manager during his 2007-15 tenure as mayor.

She later worked at the Casa Rosada presidential offices, and in a 2019 interview Martinengo emphasized not only the importance of her job - but that "like a statesman, he controls you. I have to file monthly reports to him."

Macri, 61, who was defeated for re-election last October amid the worst recession in two decades, has been the focus of numerous scandals involving alleged warrantless wiretapping of both public figures and relatives since 2009 - including his sister, the late Sandra Macri.

Former Federal Judge Carlos Rozanski called on the judiciary to bar Macri's exit from the country; the former president is reportedly seeking a post at the International Football Federation (FIFA)'s Zürich headquarters.

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Former Argentine President Mauricio Macri and his longtime secretary, Susana Martinengo, during Macri's 2015 campaign.

Martinengo, a onetime city council candidate on the far-right MODIN ticket, collected warrantless surveillance reports for the president from 2016 to 2019.

She was among 22 former public officials and intelligence agents arrested today as part of an investigation into a wide-reaching surveillance scheme against 500 - perhaps 1,500 - journalists, politicians, and other influencers.