The Ministry of Justice once again became the clearest setting for internal power struggles within the government of Javier Milei. The departure of Mariano Cúneo Libarona It was, strictly speaking, announced. The minister himself had made it clear months ago that he did not intend to remain in office beyond the initial stage of the libertarian administration and that his intention was to return to his professional activity. At that point there were no surprises: its distance was already part of the palace landscape.
The real news—the news that altered the internal balance—was the fall of Sebastian Ameriothe number two in the portfolio and an official identified with the presidential advisor Santiago Caputo. Although in the Casa Rosada they let it be known that he could find some “alternative destination” within the State in the coming weeks, the truth is that his displacement was interpreted as a political setback for the libertarian strategist.
Amerio was considered Caputo’s direct terminal within the Ministry of Justice. In the ecosystem of libertarian power, the idea even circulated insistently that the advisor exercised a kind of informal management over the portfolio. The version was installed so much that the Cúneo Libarona He ended up referring to her publicly. In a radio interview with Romina Manguelthe former minister admitted having heard those comments and hinted at his annoyance: as he maintained, the progress and achievements of the administration were the responsibility of his team and not of a supposed “shadow minister.”
The interviews he gave after his departure, in fact, were read in the ruling party as a political message. In some offices of the Casa Rosada they maintain that this media round was enabled—and even stimulated—by Karina Mileithe general secretary of the Presidency. The objective would have been to mark two things: first, that the internal dispute for control of the Ministry of Justice ended up leaning in favor of the sector that answers to the President’s sister; second, that the result was not only due to a power struggle, but also to a negative evaluation of the work carried out by the outgoing team.
In this diagnosis a proper name appears: Ariel Lijo. Within the Government they hold Amerio responsible for having strongly promoted the attempt to bring the federal judge to trial. Supreme Courta move that ended up becoming one of the main judicial missteps of the Milei administration. The failure of that strategy left internal wounds and weakened the position of the undersecretary.
Amerio’s departure also contradicted some of the versions that Caputo himself had circulated in the previous days. According to journalists who spoke with the advisor, the person chosen to lead the Ministry would not be Juan Bautista Mahiquesbut the former mayor of Mar del Plata Guillermo Montenegro. Later, when the name of Mahiques began to sound strongly, the hypothesis that was spread was another: Amerio would continue as second in a balance scheme between the Caputo sector and that of Karina Milei.
None of that happened.
Amerio will be replaced by Santiago Violanational representative of Freedom Advances and a leader closely trusted by Karina Milei. His arrival modifies the political architecture of the area. Viola, 37 years oldbuilt his network of contacts in the judicial world with the help of his mother, the lawyer Claudia Balbina historic operator with ties to the federal courts and close to the judge María Romilda Servini de Cubría. From this network, the new official consolidated relationships with different magistrates of Commodore Pyincluding his own Ariel Lijowith whom he maintains a fluid dialogue.
In the judicial environment, his relationship with the operator is also mentioned Daniel “Tano” Angelicione of the most experienced interlocutors in the Buenos Aires judicial system. Angelici, in fact, maintains an oiled bond with Juan Bautista Mahiqueswhich reinforces the idea that the new duo Mahiques–Viola could become the operational core of the libertarian government’s judicial strategy.
In the corridors of Comodoro Py, some describe them as two operators with the ability to weave agreements to advance the redesign of the Judicial Branch promoted by the Casa Rosada. The task is not minor: the ruling party needs to build political majorities to fill judicial vacancies, advance with institutional reforms and maintain a permanent dialogue with governors and parliamentary blocs. On that board, the articulation with figures like Patricia Bullrich and different provincial leaders appears as key to negotiating appointments and reforms.
But behind the Justice crisis lies a deeper discussion about the architecture of libertarian power. For months there was talk of the famous “iron triangle” made up of Javier Milei, his sister Karina and Santiago Caputo. However, around these hours Caputo himself began to relativize that idea in reserved conversations with journalists and leaders. As he repeats privately, that triangle never really existed: the power scheme was always, he says, an inverted pyramid with two owners—Javier and Karina Milei—and a general manager below.
That design, however, seems to have entered a redefinition phase. Since the electoral victory of October 26which politically strengthened Karina Milei within the ruling party, in the Casa Rosada they began to talk about a gradual process of internal rearrangement. Translated into the language of power: a progressive takeover of areas that until now orbited around Santiago Caputo.
The Ministry of Justice appears as the first visible scene of this movement. The fall of Amerio and the landing of Viola not only reconfigure the Government’s relationship with the judicial system. They also mark the beginning of a stage in which Karina Milei seeks to consolidate direct control over strategic areas of the State.
Behind the judicial episode, then, a broader political conclusion appears: the internal balance of the ruling party is changing. And in that new map of power, the place of Santiago Caputo — until now considered the great political architect of the libertarian government — is beginning to be reviewed.
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