Argentina’ vice president survived a botched assassination attempt Thursday after the gun used in the attempt reportedly failed to fire.
Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner reportedly exited a car at her Buenos Aires home, surrounded by hundreds of supporters, when a man pointed a pistol at her head. The scene was captured in video footage.
The controversial Fernandez de Kirchner is a former president of the South American country. She is currently under investigation for corruption and rumored to be considering another presidential run.
Reuters further reported:
President Alberto Fernandez said the gun had been loaded with five bullets.
“This is the most serious event we have gone through since Argentina returned to democracy,” he said in a televised address, referring to the 1983 end of military rule.
“A man pointed a firearm at her head and pulled the trigger. Cristina is still alive because, for some reason yet to be confirmed, the gun … did not fire.”
Her suspected assailant, whom authorities identified as a 35-year-old man of Brazilian origin, was quickly arrested by police and the weapon seized.
A divisive figure inside Argentina who was president between 2007 and 2015, Fernandez de Kirchner is on trial for corruption linked to public contracts awarded in the early 2000s.
She could face a 12-year sentence and possible disqualification from public office if convicted on the charges, which she denies. She has been widely expected to run for the Senate and possibly the presidency again next year.
Argentina is also mired in a deep economic crisis driven by spiralling debt levels and inflation that has triggered street protests. read more
“When hate and violence prevail over debate, societies are destroyed and situations like these arise,” tweeted Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who was recently appointed to tackle the national crisis.
Heads of state and political allies around the region, including Chilean President Gabriel Boric, Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, Peru’s Pedro Castillo and Brazilian presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, also denounced the attack.
They expressed solidarity with Fernandez de Kirchner and voiced relief that she had not been hurt.
Attempted assassination of a former president who is under investigation by political opponents and is considering another run for presidential office should worry Donald Trump. President Joe Biden is calling the 45th president and supporters fascists who “represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.”
It sounds like President Biden channeling Britain’s King Henry II’s lament about the Archbishop of Canterbury: “Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?”
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