- The event occurred during a rally in support of the Argentine vice president near her home.
- The arrested man is a 35-year-old man of Brazilian origin who was carrying the weapon with five bullets.
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| A man pointed a firearm at her head and triggered it. |
A man arrested for trying to shoot Cristina Fernández by pulling a gun centimeter from her head
The Argentine authorities arrested an individual on Thursday who tried to fire a weapon centimeters from the head of the vice president of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, in the vicinity of the home of the former president of the country (2007-2015).
The Argentine government confirmed that the detained person is a 35-year-old man of Brazilian origin with a history of illegal possession of weapons, previously arrested last March, according to the Clarín newspaper and Europa Press.
In a live broadcast of the Televisión Pública network, it was possible to observe how a crowd of people supported the vice president during a rally around her house, at which time one person raised a pistol and pointed it at Fernández head. of Kirchner.
According to official sources from the Ministry of Security to Efe, members of the Argentine Federal Police, which is responsible for the custody of the vice president, were alerted by protesters who were at the scene that "a man would be armed among them."
"For this reason, he was identified by arresting him on Juncal and Uruguay streets [near the vice president's home] and a weapon was found a few meters from the place. The situation is under control," said sources told Efe.
Pushback reactions
The president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, expressed this Thursday night his condemnation of the "attack" on the country's vice president and declared this Friday as a non-working day for society to express "in peace" its rejection of violence. In a message on the national television network, the president maintained that the "attack" against the former president is the "most serious event that has happened" since Argentina returned to democracy in 1983.
"A man pointed a firearm at her head and triggered it. Cristina remains alive because, for a reason not yet technically confirmed, the weapon that had five bullets did not fire despite having been triggered," said the head of Condition. The president maintained that "such a reality moves the entire Argentine people."
Other political personalities also showed their support for the former president, such as the case of Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero: "They wanted to kill the vice president. It is the most serious act of political violence since the return of democracy. Cristina force," he asserted in a message on Twitter.
Economy Minister Sergio Massa said that "when hatred and violence prevail over the debate of ideas, they destroy societies and generate situations like today's: an assassination attempt."
Leaders of the main opposition coalition in Argentina also condemned the attack. "My absolute rejection of the attack suffered by Cristina Kirchner, which fortunately has not had consequences for the vice president," said former president Mauricio Macri (2015-2019).
Mi repudio absoluto al ataque sufrido por Cristina Kirchner que afortunadamente no ha tenido consecuencias para la vicepresidenta. Este gravísimo hecho exige un inmediato y profundo esclarecimiento por parte de la justicia y las fuerzas de seguridad.
— Mauricio Macri (@mauriciomacri) September 2, 2022
Macri, a member of the Republican Proposal (Pro), one of the forces of the Together for Change opposition front, said on the social network Twitter that "this very serious fact requires immediate and profound clarification by the Justice and the security forces".
Former Bolivian President Evo Morales also condemned what he has described as an "attempted assassination against our sister."
"We send our solidarity to the vice president, Cristina Kirchner, in the face of the attempt on her life. We strongly repudiate this action, which seeks to destabilize the peace of the brotherly Argentine people. The Great Homeland is with you, companion!", Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro wrote on Twitter.
Corruption case
On August 22, a prosecutor requested a 12-year prison sentence for the vice president for a case of alleged corruption and, since then, groups for and against the former president have demonstrated in the streets of Buenos Aires, reports Efe.
The tension increased in the following days as a result of the placement of a fence around Fernández's home and the accusations from the ruling party of repression of the demonstrators by the forces of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires -opposition to the Argentine executive.
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