Intel reformed

Argentina's spy agency regroups, wins back power under Macri

A little over a year since Argentina's spy agency was shackled in the wake of the mysterious death of a star prosecutor, President Mauricio Macri is backing its quest for broader powers that critics fear will revive unfettered domestic spying.

Argentina's spies are pressing Macri to remove restrictions imposed by former president Cristina Fernandez after public investigator Alberto Nisman was found dead in his home in 2015, a source in the judiciary said.

Fernandez accused a rogue agent of playing a role in Nisman's murder, which came days after he accused her of covering up Iran's alleged role in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires. Fernandez overhauled the country's spy agency in response, branding it the Federal Intelligence Service, or AFI.