In Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, a gunman tried to shoot the country’s vice president, Cristina Kirchner. This was reported by Todo Noticias TV channel.
The assassination attempt took place on the evening of September 1, Buenos Aires time, near the politician’s home – he was standing by his car, talking to his supporters.
Meanwhile, 35-year-old Brazilian Fernando Andrés Sabag Montiel aimed his Argentine-made Bersa Thunder 380 self-loading pistol at Kirchner’s face, but it misfired and the attacker was detained by Kirchner’s security guards.
It is known that Montiel was convicted – last year he found a knife in the police car. The attacker’s purpose was not determined, he is now arrested.
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said the assassination attempt on Cristina Kirchner was “the worst incident since the restoration of democracy in the country”. September 2, Fernandez declared a day off.
“I have decided to declare the day a national holiday so that the people of Argentina can raise their voices in defense of democracy and life in peace and harmony and express their solidarity with our vice president.”
The attack was also condemned by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Cuban President Miguel-Díaz Canel, Bolivian President Luis Arce, Chilean President Gabriel Boric and former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
“I express my solidarity with Christina Kirchner, a victim of a fascist who does not respect differences and differences. Christina is a woman who deserves the respect of every democrat in the world. “Thank God he was not injured,” wrote Lula da Silva on Twitter.
“We express our solidarity with the attempted assassination of Vice President Christina Kirchner. We categorically condemn such actions aimed at destabilizing the peaceful life of the fraternal people of Argentina,” wrote Nicolas Maduro.
Cristina Kirchner, who served as President of Argentina from 2007 to 2015, is accused of corruption. She became president after her husband, Nestor Kirchner, who has been head of state since 2003.
Last week, prosecutor Diego Luciani sought a 12-year prison sentence for Cristina Kirchner on corruption charges. The prosecution also demanded that the woman be barred from public office and ordered her to be fined $1 billion.
Along with Kirchner, 12 people are accused in the criminal case of corruption in the highest echelons of power in Argentina. All are accused of stealing budget funds for construction projects in the state of Santa Cruz.
Assassination attempt on Abe
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated during a speech in the city of Nara on 8 July. The killer was Tetsuya Yamagami, a former member of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, who shot the politician twice with a homemade shotgun.
During interrogations, he repeatedly revealed that Yamagami attacked the former prime minister for believing he was linked to the “Unification Church”, the religious organization he blames for his family’s financial problems. His mother was his follower, and in a few years he donated more than 100 million yen (more than $720,000 at current exchange rates) to the Unification Church.
Initially, Yamagami planned to attack the head of this religious organization, but eventually chose Shinzo Abe as the target because he saw it as an easier target to attack. At the same time, the Unification Church officially denied Abe’s participation in its activities.