The Argentine vice president escapes unharmed after a failed assassination attempt

by time news

A man tried to fire a gun inches from the head of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the country’s most prominent leader, but did not fire.

An assassination attempt on Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina on Thursday night failed when a man put a gun to her head and tried to pull the trigger, but the gun did not fire, according to video footage and a statement. of the president of Argentina. .

Fernandez was uninjured.

“Cristina is still alive because, for reasons that have not been technically proven, the weapon that was loaded with five bullets did not fire,” said the president. Alberto Fernandez in an address to the nation Thursday night.

“This is the most serious event since we recovered our democracy.”

Federal police arrested Fernando Andrés Sabag Montiel, 35, a Brazilian living in Argentina, in connection with the attack, according to Buenos Aires police.

Cristina Fernández, a left-wing former president who is Argentina’s most prominent leader with three decades in the public eye, is a deeply polarizing figure in the country and is on trial on corruption charges.

His supporters have demonstrated outside his house in Buenos Aires since last week, sometimes clashing with the police.

Just after 9 p.m., as Fernandez was getting out of his vehicle into a large crowd outside his home, a man quickly approached and pointed a gun inches from his face, according to video footage and authorities.

A clicking sound heard on the videos suggested the man may have tried to pull the trigger.

Fernandez ducked down and the man was pushed away.

Five people chased a man from the scene and said he had tried to kill Fernandez, according to Buenos Aires police.

Federal police then arrested Montiel and found a gun near the scene, Buenos Aires police said.

Alberto Fernández declared a national holiday in Argentina on Friday so that Argentines could “defend life and democracy in solidarity with our vice president,” he said.

“The outcry, the horror and the repudiation that this fact generates in us must become a permanent commitment to eradicate hate and violence from our democratic life.”

Members of Argentina’s Congress said they had formed a commission to investigate the assassination attempt.

Cristina Fernández, 69, was president of Argentina from 2007 to 2015 and first lady from 2003 to 2007, when her late husband, Nestor Kirchnerwas president.

His political power was so strong in Argentina that it gave rise to the Kirchnerisma leftist movement that remains one of the political forces more powerful from the country.

In 2019, she returned to the Casa Rosada, Argentina’s presidential offices, after planning a political formula in which she would run for vice president and Alberto Fernández would seek the presidency.

Alberto Fernández is not expected to run for re-election next year due to dismal approval ratings amid Argentina’s economic spiral.

Cristina Fernández, despite being vilified by the right in Argentina, remains adored throughout much of the country.

Many political analysts in Argentina have been speculating that he could try to return to the presidency next year.

But he is also dealing with a corruption trial that is in its final stages and could conclude in December.

He faces accusations that he helped direct state funds for public road works projects to a company owned by a family friend.

Prosecutors are seeking a 12-year prison sentence for her and a ban from holding public office.

Even if she is found guilty, however, she would likely avoid those punishments for years while appeals played out.

c.2022 The New York Times Company

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