Federal judge María Eugenia Capuchetti ordered this Sunday (4th), an alleged friend of the Brazilian who tried to shoot a gun at Argentine vice president Cristina Kirchner to testify, according to information in the newspaper Clarín.
Identified as Mario, the man made statements to the television channel Telefé and stated that the “intention [do brasileiro] was to kill her, but unfortunately he didn’t rehearse it before.”
Police have identified Fernando Andrés Sabag Montiel, a 35-year-old Brazilian with a criminal record as the man who tried to shoot Argentina’s vice president in the face as she arrived home in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires on Thursday. (1st). In March 2021, Sabag had already been arrested with a 35-centimeter knife in the La Paternal neighborhood, where he allegedly lived.
Also according to Clarín, Judge Capuchetti sent a summons to the young woman who had been living with the Brazilian in Buenos Aires for about a month. These actions, according to the Argentine publication, seek to clarify whether the Brazilian acted premeditatedly.
Sabag was arrested Thursday night, shortly after attempting to shoot Kirchner. Footage shows the vice president being greeted by a crowd of supporters as she exits her car as he approaches within 1 meter of her with a pistol.
According to the Argentine press, the Brazilian was wearing a cap and mask, and would have run away after trying to shoot, but was followed by five people, allowing agents to identify him.
Capuchetti, went to the Argentine Federal Police headquarters to take Sabag’s statement on Friday (2), but he refused to be questioned, according to local press.
The vice president told her version of the case in the morning at her home, which she turned into a sort of headquarters in the hours after the crime. According to the Argentine newspaper La Nación, she reported not realizing that a gun had been pointed close to her face, only realizing what had happened when she got home.
In an environment of heightened political commotion, the trial on suspicion of corruption against the vice president and 12 other people will resume this Monday (5th).
Kirchner is accused of favoring, when he was president, in the granting of bids for the realization of public works. This Monday’s audience will hear Héctor Garro, former director of public works in the Santa Cruz region.
In the process, the Argentine Public Prosecutor’s Office said it had proven the existence of an illicit association, between 2003 and 2015, which had the heads of state at the top of its operation.
