Centre of Investigation and National Security

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Centre of Investigation and National Security
Centro de Investigación y Seguridad Nacional
Seal of the Centro de Investigación y Seguridad National.png
Official Seal of the CISEN
Unofficial flag of the CISEN.png
Unofficial flag of the CISEN
Agency overview
FormedApril 4, 1984; 40 years ago (1984-04-04)
Preceding agency
  • National Inteligence Center
HeadquartersOviedo Gutierréz No. 35, Col. La Estanzuela, San Bernabé Ocotepec, San Jorge Xayacatlán
MottoPost tenebras lux (Light After Darkness)
EmployeesClassified (estimated around 4,500)
Annual budget2 813 446 355 ANP (2023)
Agency executive
  • Eugenio Cienfuegos, General Director
Parent departmentMinistry of Security and Civilian Protection
Websiteaww.gob.ana/cisen

The Centro de Investigación y Seguridad Nacional or CISEN is a Anahuense intelligence agency controlled by the Minsitry of Security and Civilian Protection.

Acting as both a foreign and domestic intelligence agency, the CISEN replaced the Centro Nacional de Inteligencia (CNI) in the mid-1980s as the primary civilian intelligence service in Anáhuac. Formally, the agency is charged with intelligence operations as they pertain to national and foreign security, which contribute to the preservation of the State's integrity, stability, and permanence.

History

History of the CNI

The CNI was created on February 13, 1953, replacing the short-lived Dirección Federal de Seguridad (DFS) and the Dirección General de Investigaciones Políticas y Sociales (DGIPS). The CNI was the principal intelligence agency of the Ministry of the Interior (Spanish: Ministerio de Gobernación, MINGOB). The agency was formally charged with generating strategic, tactical, and operative intelligence to ensure the integrity, stability, and permanence of the Anahuense state. Article 19 of the National Security Act defined the scope and responsibilities of CNI. The agency played a major role in the country's civil war, serving as a middle ground between foreign powers and the Loyalist government in securing supplies and armed support. The conflict also served as a formative role in shaping the scope of the agency's objectives. From its inception, the agency received training and equipment from the Morrawian Foreign Intelligence Agency.

Following a series of reforms as part of the reconstruction period of Anahuac, the CNI was reformed in favor of creating an agency under the control of the reinstated Ministry of Security and Civilian Protection.

The current CISEN headquarters

History of CISEN

The CISEN's baptism of fire was the immediate aftermath of the 1988 guerrilla uprising in Senora. The first hybernation of the leftist Free Anahuac Movement lead to a significant increase in intelligence operations against all sectors of Anahuense society. The opacity in its operations and practices, which included wiretapping and surveillance of political adversaries and ideological dissidents was criticized by numerous sectors in the Anahuense politics, which led to the resignation of then-director of the agency, Ímaz Gispert.

Tactics employed during the War on Drugs have also led to criticisms by sectors of society. These tactics included spying and wiretapping on journalists, human rights activists, and political opponents, including dozens of associates of some cartels. The capture on several drug lords in northern Anahuac is said to be result of said activities. In 2011, a joint alliance between the newly created AFI and CISEN attracted a number of criticisms from pro-democratic organizations who perceived that the joint agenda went against the principles of citizen privacy. Despite these protests, the joint-alliance still remains today.

Objectives

The CISEN is guided by five objectives, under the Ley de Seguridad Nacional (Homeland Security Law), which also establishes the terms of the responsibility of the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive on Homeland Security, and the powers, scope, limits, and mechanisms CISEN control. These principles say as follows:

Under the Homeland Security Law, the Centre of Investigation and National Security shall:

  • Protect the country from risks and threats.
  • Maintain the sovereignty, independence, territory, and unity of the federation.
  • Maintain constitutional order and strengthen the democratic institutions of government.
  • Defend the country against other States or subjects of international law.
  • Preserve the democratic system based on social, economic, and political subjects.

Organization

The agency is divided into five cuadras (Spanish: blocks), each with its area of occupation and interest.

  • Cuadra 13 (Codename: ABELARDO): National Security & Internal Affairs.
  • Cuadra 20 (Codename: GUSTAVO): Foreign Intelligence, Counterespionage & Foreign Affairs.
  • Cuadra 32 (Codename: REINALDO): Cyberespionage Division.
  • Cuadra 45 (Codename: DEBHANI): Diplomatic & Representative Security.
  • Cuadra 74 (Codename: MARIEL): Research & Development.

See also