Security
US accuses Russia of involvement in operations to destabilize Argentina
The Kremlin is using the media outlet RT as a de facto arm of Russia's intelligence apparatus, engaging in operations aimed at destabilizing Argentina's government and increasing tensions with its neighboring countries.
![The logo of the RT TV channel is displayed at company headquarters in Moscow. [Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP]](/gc4/images/2024/09/16/47639-rt-600_384.webp)
By AFP and Entorno |
WASHINGTON -- The US State Department on September 13 accused Russia of actively working to undermine Argentina's government and sow discord among its neighbors.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken implicated Russian media outlet RT of being a "de facto arm of Russia's intelligence apparatus" being used against countries around the world.
"We know that RT possesses cyber capabilities and engaged in covert information influence operations and military procurement," Blinken said that day.
"The Russian Government is also engaged in operations meant to destabilize the government of Argentina and escalate tensions between Argentina and its neighbors," the State Department said in a statement the same day.
![Unidentified directors of RT are shown in their apparatus room in Moscow. [Yuri Kadobnov/AFP]](/gc4/images/2024/09/16/47640-rt2-600_384.webp)
Earlier this month, US authorities announced a battery of measures including sanctions and potential prosecution targeting Russian media over alleged attempts to interfere in this year's American elections.
The State Department at that time imposed visa restrictions affecting media group Rossiya Segodnya, which includes RT, as well as others of its affiliates.
RT, a news organ launched in 2005, is widely considered abroad to be a vehicle for Kremlin propaganda.
Destabilizing the globe
On September 13, the State Department emphasized that the group's efforts at destabilization extend far beyond the United States, singling out actions affecting Moldova, Argentina, France, Germany and parts of Africa.
The Russian government this spring "embedded within RT an entity with cyber operational capabilities and ties to Russian intelligence," it said.
"This cyber entity has focused primarily on influence and intelligence operations all over the world," it added.
One RT project was a vast online crowdfunding program designed to help provide military equipment for Russian units in Ukraine.
The program procured sniper rifles, body armor, night-vision goggles, drones and radio equipment for the Russian invaders, said Blinken.
RT is "not just a fire hose, as the Secretary put it, of disinformation, but a fully fledged member of the intelligence apparatus and operation of the Russian government on the war in Ukraine," said Jamie Rubin, who heads a State Department unit meant to counter propaganda and disinformation, September 13.