Secular gent in America protects country (9)

I believe the answer is:

argentina

'country' is the definition.
(Argentina is an example)

'secular gent in america protects' is the wordplay.
'protects' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue (I've seen 'protecting' mean this).
'ARGENTINA' is hidden in the letters of 'secular gent in america'.

(Other definitions for argentina that I've seen before include "part of 18 [SOUTH AMERICA]" , "An ingrate in S American country" , "FIFA World Cup winners in 1978 and 1986" , "Its capital Buenos Aires" , "Republic" .)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.

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