Security Minister Patricia Bullrich says authorities have detained a 24-year-old man allegedly linked to the Islamic state terrorist group in General Roca, Río Negro Province.
Bullrich, who claimed that the accused intended to “recruit” Argentine youngsters to participate in terrorism, said at a press conference that David Nazareno Ávila had been detained by Coast Guard (Prefectura Naval Argentina) officers on Tuesday following a nine-month investigation.
"He is a terrorist linked to Daesh or Islamic State. This terrorist represented a concrete threat to national security," she maintained at a press conference held at the Security Ministry in Buenos Aires.
"Naza, as he called himself in the social networks, represented a concrete threat to the security of Argentines," claimed the minister, adding that the accused had spread material about the terrorist organisation on the Internet.
Ávila worked for a courier service in General Roca, which Bullrich considered to be "no coincidence because that courier service gave him mobility to pick his targets”
She added: “We frustrated his plans before he could cause damage."
According to the authorities, the arrested man was planning major attacks nationwide, acting as a “lone wolf” and spreading Jihadist propaganda via social networks.
Bullrich talked up her officials and the government, stating that President Javier Milei’s administration is “showing the world that we are giving decisive battle to these global threats.”
Undercover probe
According to the details of the investigation, which started last March, the authorities managed to track Ávila thanks to an "undercover digital agent."
The accused had in his possession Jihadist propaganda and manuals for the manufacture of explosives, Bullrich said, confirming the existence of anti-Semitic messages and connections with radicalised international networks.
"This extremist used the Telegram [messaging] platform with coded messages, some of which we had to translate, as well as TikTok and Instagram. There he disseminated the ideology of hate to recruit Argentine youth," Bullrich detailed.
The minister further said that the arrested man had described the Milei government as "Zionist" – a reference to the President’s staunch support of Israel.
Detention
Ávila was arrested in General Roca thanks to an operation headed by the SIDE intelligence services and the Coast Guard.
The investigation, which took several months, was authorised by the dedicated UFECO (Unidad Fiscal Especializada en Criminalidad Organizada) unit against organised crime headed by Santiago Marquevich, with the collaboration of the Campana federal courtroom, said officials.
According to the information to which Perfil had access, the DNIC (Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia Criminal) also provided information thanks to the assistance of the FBI, which alerted about the suspicious activities of an Argentine citizen aged 24.
In an interview with Radio Continental, Fernando Soto, national policy and liaison director at the Security Ministry, said that officials " were able to detain Nazareno Ávila, a man who was publishing hate speech directed at the Jewish community. He was a terrorist cell of Islamic State. I cannot give you any more information for now because there is an investigation underway."
The work included the use of undercover digital agents, cyber-intelligence techniques and the exhaustive monitoring of the suspect’s activities.
The arrest, on January 9, included the confiscation of electronic devices, documentation and other key elements providing evidence of preparations for a possible attack.
Furthermore, it was confirmed that the detainee, although not acting under the direct orders of any specific group, had established links with extremist organisations overseas.
The authorities explained that the man’s profile coincided with that of a “lone wolf,” motivated by extremist ideologies and without any direct operational support.
Ávila reportedly tried to join the Argentine Army but was discharged because he was unable to adapt to military life, added the authorities.
– TIMES/PERFIL
