President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, dance with professional tango dancers at the end of a state dinner that Argentine President Mauricio Macri hosted for the Obamas in Buenos Aires, in March 2016. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The United States and Argentina share some common features. The most significant in terms of civil-military relations and defense-security separation is that since the return of democracy to Argentina in 1983 the country has adopted a system very similar to the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 by which the Department of Defense is prevented from interfering in domestic law enforcement. Through a set of laws and regulations that were agreed upon by the entire political spectrum over the last three decades the armed forces are in charge of external defense and the security forces are in charge of internal safety in Argentina.
In this context, President Mauricio Macri may be opening a disquieting Pandora’s Box that can seriously affect democracy and human rights in Argentina. During his first eight months of government he has shown a commitment to involve the country in a militarized "war on drugs" logic, at a time when that rationale is seriously contested throughout Latin America. In the inaugural speech of December 10, 2015, Macri underlined that a key goal of his administration was "to defeat drug trafficking” as no government has done before. No serious harm reduction, demand-oriented plan has yet been announced.
