On Thursday morning in Buenos Aires, around 60 reporters arrived at the Casa Rosada and tried to enter using fingerprint scanners that had worked for years. But the government had removed their access. The lockout came after cable news channel TN secretly filmed inside the presidential palace using smart glasses, which look like ordinary eyeglasses but have hidden cameras.
Journalists Luciana Geuna and Ignacio Salerno recorded footage on April 19 without permission. The government's military unit filed a criminal complaint for illegal espionage. President Javier Milei responded angrily on social media, calling the journalists "repugnant trash" and criticizing journalists in general.
The government Secretary of Communication, Javier Lanari, announced the fingerprint removal as a security measure. However, former deputy Marcela Pagano immediately filed a criminal complaint against Milei and Lanari, calling the ban "unprecedented since democracy returned" to Argentina in 1983.
The affected journalists called the action "unjustified" and said it attacked press freedom. International press groups, including Reporters Without Borders, also criticized the move. This is not the first time the Milei government has restricted journalist access to the palace, but it is the most severe measure so far. Argentine law has not yet addressed how smart glasses should be treated inside government buildings.