A man was arrested this Thursday in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires after pointing to Vice President Cristina Kirchner what appears to be a firearm, Security Minister Anibal Fernández said.
Argentine President Alberto Fernández said the vice president was the target of an assassination attempt, which failed only because the firearm failed to fire.
The man, whose identity has not been officially released by authorities, was arrested seconds after the incident.
The state news agency Télam identified him as a Brazilian citizen.
Videos from several television channels show a person pointing the alleged firearm in front of the face of former Argentine President Cristina Kirchner (2007-2015) as she got out of a car near her home.
“At this point, the situation needs to be analyzed by the scientific police to verify the fingerprints, capacity and disposition that this person had,” the minister pointed out journalists.
The video of the weapon against @CFKArgentina pic.twitter.com/8j1xpMnPoe
— Lautaro Maislin (@LautaroMaislin) September 2, 2022
Despite the open questions, government officials quickly described the incident as an assassination attempt.
“When hatred and violence intrude into the debate about ideas, societies are destroyed and situations like the one we see today: an assassination attempt,” said Economy Minister Sergio Massa.
Ministers in President Alberto Fernández’s government have released a joint communiqué strongly condemning “the attempted assassination” of the vice president.
President declares national holiday
“What happened tonight is extremely serious and threatens democracy, institutions and the rule of law,” the statement said.
In a video posted to social media in the early hours of Friday, the Argentine president said it was the “serious” situation since Argentina returned to democracy in 1983.
Alberto Fernández stated that the vice president is “alive” because, “for an unknown technical reason”, the firearm, which had five bullets, failed to fire.
“They attacked our vice president and social peace was changed,” said the president, who decided to declare a national holiday so that the people “can express themselves in defense of life, democracy” and in solidarity with Cristina. Kirchner.,
“I have decided to declare a national holiday so that the Argentine people can express themselves in peace and harmony in defense of life, democracy and in solidarity with our Vice President,” the Argentine head of state announced.
NATIONAL CADENA – Message from the President of the Nation, Alberto Fernández (@alferdez). https://t.co/dg2UDugDaz
— Casa Rosada (@CasaRosada) September 2, 2022
Former President Mauricio Macri also rejected the attack. “This very serious event requires an immediate and in-depth clarification on the part of the Organs judicial and security authorities,” Macri wrote on the social network Twitter.
My absolute rejection of Cristina Kirchner’s attack, which fortunately did not affect the vice president. This very serious matter requires immediate and in-depth clarification on the part of the judiciary and security forces.
— Mauricio Macri (@mauriciomacri) September 2, 2022
Soccer suspended in Argentina
The Argentine Football Association announced on Friday the suspension of all games scheduled for that day, expressing “energetic rejection for what happened to its vice president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner”.
“We appeal to society as a whole and warn that violence of any kind is never the right choice,” reads the association’s publication on the social network Twitter.
Supporters of the vice president have been gathering in the streets around her home since last week after a prosecutor demanded a 12-year prison sentence against Kirchner in a case of alleged corruption related to public works.
Tensions in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires have risen since the weekend, when supporters of the vice president clashed with police in the streets around her apartment after security forces attempted to demobilize the protesters.
Source: DN
