The Argentine Justice decided this Tuesday to impeach the former president Mauricio Macri (2015-2019) and various agents of the Federal Intelligence Agency (AFI) in the case of alleged espionage against relatives of victims of the ship sinking The ARA San Juan submarine disappeared in 2017.
The Federal Chamber of Criminal Appeals, this Tuesday, responded to the decision of the Buenos Aires Federal Chamber in July last year, which stated that “the sole purpose of the activities carried out is presidential security and/or internal security, and they are therefore justified.”
Court of Appeals II, composed of Judges Guillermo J. Yacobucci, Ángela E. Ledesma, and Mariano H. Borinsky. The majority of the Chamber voted to cut ties with the former president and ally of Argentina’s next president, libertarian Javier Milei.
“Principally, Each person must respond to what is part of his or her competence“ARA states the sentence regarding alleged illegal espionage activities carried out between December 2017 and the end of 2018 with the aim of obtaining personal data and information from relatives and friends of those killed in San Juan.
In December 2021, federal judge Martín Bava of the Buenos Aires town of Dolores had ordered the prosecution of Macri and the leaders of Argentina’s intelligence services during his tenure.
According to the Supreme Court justices who approved the dismissal today, the conduct carried out was “framed within the legitimate aims pursued by the Trinity (AFI)” and was “the most moderate and least intrusive” conduct.
The Chamber concludes: “Far from being an illegal activity, it fully contributes to the proper and effective performance of assigned duties, to the prevention of surprising and even risky situations for the highest political representative of the country.”
Furthermore, regarding Macri himself’s interference with the devices used by the AFI, the judges confirmed that “it has not been materially proven that the defendant was in a position to imply his direct intervention in the events under investigation, even through passive conduct.”
The decision also decided to annul the precautionary measures established in the case.
The Argentine Navy submarine ARA San Juan disappeared off the coast of Argentine Patagonia in November 2017.
After difficult search and rescue efforts in which eighteen countries participated, Operations were stopped two weeks after the sinking.
A year later, the government led by Macri hired the company Ocean Infinity to find the remains of the submarine.
The search ended on November 17, 2018, with the discovery of the remains of the submarine and the 44 crew members who were aboard when it capsized.
Numerous senior officers of the Argentine Navy”breach of duty“In another case.