The former leader has denied wrongdoing and says she is the victim of political persecution.
In a statement on April 4, legal officials said Federal Judge Claudio Bonadio had brought formal charges against Cristina Fernandez for alleged money laundering in property dealings.
Her daughter, Florencia, and son, Maximo, have also been charged along with businessmen Cristobal Lopez and Lazaro Baez.
Last month, a judge ruled that Cristina Fernandez, who governed from 2007 to 2015, should stand trial on charges of financial mismanagement while in office.
The ex-president is accused of ordering the central bank to sell dollars on the futures market at artificially low prices ahead of a widely expected devaluation of the Argentine peso.
Cristina Fernandez also faces separate corruption charges alleging that her government steered public contracts to Lazaro Baez – a businessman close to her family.
Former economy minister Axel Kiciloff and the former head of the central bank have also been charged.
Cristina Fernandez, who governed from 2007 to 2015, said the case was politically motivated.
She already faces unrelated investigations into alleged corruption.
Judge Claudio Bonadio said a total of 15 people would go in trial in connection with the case.
Cristina Fernandez is accused of ordering the central bank to sell dollars on the futures market at artificially low prices ahead of a widely expected devaluation of the Argentine peso.
This, the allegation goes, caused Argentina to lose hundreds of millions of dollars.
Cristina Fernandez is also being investigated over alleged corruption but the dollar futures case would be the first to reach the trial phase.
She won the presidential election in 2007, succeeding her husband, Nestor Kirchner, in the top office.
In 2011, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was re-elected by a landslide.
Mauricio Macri has been sworn in as Argentina’s president in a Buenos Aires ceremony.
The newly-elected president vowed to unite the nation and revive the economy.
The center-right Mauricio Macri took the oath of office in Congress but his inauguration was boycotted by his predecessor, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, in a row over the venue.
In his inaugural speech, Mauricio Macri vowed to tackle corruption, poverty and drug trafficking.
He also pledged “team work” and an end to confrontation in politics.
Photo Reuters
Mauricio Macri, 56, told Congress: “As president I want to be a citizen who can communicate with all Argentines.
“Politics for me is not a competition to see who’s got the bigger ego. It’s working together for the good of the people.”
“Today a dream is being achieved,” he said.
On December 9, outgoing President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner had bid farewell to supporters in an emotional speech, urging people to take to the streets if they felt betrayed by the new centre-right government.
This is the first time since the end of the military dictatorship in 1983 that a president has not attended the inauguration of a successor.
Mauricio Macri triumphed in last month’s election run-off, beating Cristina Fernandez’s chosen successor, Daniel Scioli.
The newly-elected president has promised to move from a largely state-controlled economy under the leftist Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to one that is more free market-orientated, easing trade and currency controls.
Mauricio Macri has also promised to improve relations with the US.
In his speech in Congress he said: “We’ve got to take confrontation out of the centre of politics. With fighting no-one wins, with dialogue, everyone wins.
“A new time is coming, a time of dialogue, a time of teamwork.”
Mauricio Macri said those who had voted for him wanted three goals – zero poverty, an end to drug trafficking and the unity of all Argentines.
To applause, he said he wanted a judiciary cleaned of its political affiliations.
Marta Gabriela Michetti was sworn in as vice-president.
Mauricio Macri then travelled to the presidential palace to receive the sash and baton of office.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner had insisted that the handover of the symbols of office should also take place in Congress, where her party holds a majority of seats.
She argued this was a tradition established by her and her late husband and predecessor in office, Nestor Kirchner.
Mauricio Macri argued that according to presidential protocol, the handover should be held in the palace, as it was before 2003.
Local media reported that Mauricio Macri’s decision was probably driven not just by tradition but also by a concern that followers of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner could disrupt the ceremony in Congress.
After Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner declined to attend the ceremonies, Mauricio Macri’s party sought a court injunction affirming that her term ended at midnight on December 9.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has made an emotional farewell speech to supporters in the capital, Buenos Aires.
The outgoing president urged people to take to the streets if they feel betrayed by the new center-right government.
Conservative Mauricio Macri, who won a run-off election last month, is due to be sworn in as president later.
Mauricio Macri inherits problems including high inflation and a low level of foreign currency reserves.
He has promised a new era of change and reconciliation.
Addressing tens of thousands of cheering supporters outside the La Casa Rosa presidential palace in Buenos Aires, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner defended her record.
“We believe in what we have achieved so we need to have a positive attitude to ensure that these things will not be destroyed,” she said.
“When you feel that those who you trusted and voted for have betrayed you, take up your flags,” she added.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is to skip today’s swearing-in after the two became embroiled in a row over the ceremony’s location.
It will be the first time since the end of Argentina’s military dictatorship in 1983 that a president has not attended the inauguration of a successor.
Mauricio Macri sought a court injunction affirming that Cristina Fernandez’s term ended at midnight on December 9.
During her speech, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchener joked: “I can’t talk much because after midnight I’ll turn into a pumpkin.”
Power will now be transferred to the new president by Senate Speaker Federico Pinedo, who is acting act as temporary head of state for 12 hours.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her late husband, Nestor Kirchner, held power in Argentina for 12 years.
She is revered by some Argentines for expanding welfare benefits, nationalizing some companies and introducing new civil rights such as gay marriage.
However, critics say she created a culture of handouts and clogged Latin America’s third-largest economy with interventionist policies.
Mauricio Macri – the outgoing mayor of Buenos Aires and a former president of football club Boca Juniors – defeated Cristina Fernandez’s preferred candidate Daniel Scioli by 51.4% to 48.6% in a run-off vote last month.
He is the first center-right leader to come to power since Argentina returned to democracy.
Mauricio Macri has not detailed his economic policies, but said that he will need to implement swift and radical changes in order to win back market confidence.
However, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s party still holds the most seats in the legislature and could make it hard for him to implement big changes.
Argentina’s opposition candidate Mauricio Macri has won the presidential election runoff in, exit polls suggest.
Polls by taken by TV stations shortly after voting closed indicated Mauricio Macri, 56, won, without giving a breakdown.
Mauricio Macri, the mayor of Buenos Aires, was up against Daniel Scioli, the governor of Buenos Aires province.
Loud cheers erupted at Mauricio Macri’s campaign headquarters at the news, Reuters reported.
Party insiders claimed a five- to eight-percentage-point lead.
If the result is confirmed, it will be the first time in more than a decade that Argentina’s center-right opposition has wrested the presidency from the center-left Peronists.
Photo Getty Images
A spokesman for DanielScioli said they would wait for official figures to come in before commenting.
Neither candidate managed to win the first round of voting in October outright, forcing a runoff – the first in the country’s history.
DanielScioli was marginally ahead in the first round, with 36.7% to 34.5%, but has lost ground to his rival in the month since.
Mauricio Macri, the leader of the Cambiemos (Let’s Change) coalition, went into today’s vote with a comfortable lead in opinion polls.
He campaigned on pledges to bring new investment into the ailing economy, tackle crime and fight corruption.
The son of one of Argentina’s richest men, Mauricio Macri had a long career in business before entering politics.
A close ally of current President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Daniel Scioli had been expected to win by a greater margin in October.
Daniel Scioli is leading exit polls in Argentina’s election, but it is not clear if the vote will go into a runoff.
The center-left candidate was handpicked by two-term President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term.
The head of the campaign led by Daniel Scioli’s main challenger, center-right Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri, says the election is heading for a second round.
A run-off would be held on November 22.
Argentina’s C5N television network said Daniel Scioli had won by “a large margin”.
To win outright, a candidate needs 45% of the vote or a minimum of 40% as well as a 10-point lead over the nearest rival.
Daniel Scioli, the governor of Buenos Aires province, is a former world power boating champion who lost his right arm in a race in 1989.
Photo Getty Images
Last week, he pledged tax cuts for workers earning under a certain income, a move expected to affect half a million people.
Daniel Scioli has also vowed to bring down Argentina’s inflation to single digits in less than four years and promises to introduce policy changes to invigorate the economy.
Another candidate, Sergio Massa, a former ally of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, is polling behind Mauricio Macri. There are three other names on the ballot paper, with 32 million people eligible to vote.
Long queues formed outside polling stations from the early hours on October 25.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who stands down after eight years in power, says she leaves Argentines a better country.
“We are voting today in a completely normal country,” she said after casting her vote in the Patagonian town of Rio Gallegos.
In previous decades, Argentines always went to the polls “in the middle of a serious crisis,” Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner added.
She said achieving stability and leaving Argentines “a normal country” was the promise made by her late husband, Neston Kirchner, when he took office in 2003.
Nestor Kirchner died in 2010, three years after handing over the presidency to his wife.
While Argentina gained strength after a financial crisis in 2002, its economy, the third-largest in Latin America, has slowed in recent years, with GDP growing by only 0.5% in 2014.
Argentina is voting to choose the country’s next president in a general election that ends 12 years of rule under the Kirchners.
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has served two consecutive terms and, under Argentina’s constitution, cannot run again.
Cristina Fernandez’s hand-picked successor, left-winger Daniel Scioli, is leading polls.
However, Daniel Scioli he is expected to face stiff competition from Mauricio Macri, the centre-right mayor of Buenos Aires.
Another candidate, Sergio Massa, a former Kirchner ally, is polling behind Mauricio Macri, while there are three other names on the ballot paper.
Today is the first round of voting – if no candidate gets more than 45% of the vote, or gets a minimum of 40% as well as a 10-point lead, there will be a run-off on November 22.
Whoever wins the presidency faces significant economic challenges.
Photo AP
While Argentina gained strength after a financial crisis in 2002, its economy, the third largest in Latin America, has slowed down in recent years, with GDP growing by only 0.5% in 2014.
The government is also locked in a battle against American hedge funds who disagree with how is wants to restructure $100 billion of debt on which it defaulted in 2001.
While the companies successfully sued Argentina for repayment, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner refused to pay.
She succeeded her husband Nestor Kirchner as president. He died in 2010, three years after handing over the presidency to his wife.
Daniel Scioli, the governor of Buenos Aires province, is a former world powerboating champion who lost his right arm in a boat race in 1989.
Last week, he pledged tax cuts for middle-class workers earning under a certain income, a move expected to affect half a million people.
Daniel Scioli has also vowed to bring down Argentina’s inflation to single digits in less than four years and promises to introduce policy changes to invigorate the economy.
Like Daniel Scioli, Mauricio Macri is married to a former model. He is a former president of Boca Juniors, Argentina’s most successful soccer club.
While Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has sought to press Argentina’s claims for the disputed UK territory of the Falkland Islands, Daniel Scioli says he would not appoint a Falklands minister, and would seek closer ties with London.
The controversial case against Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has been again dismissed by an appeals court.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was accused of shielding Iran from prosecution over the 1994 bomb attack against a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires.
Two out of three judges voted to reject an appeal by prosecutors, saying that no crime had been committed.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has always denied the allegations.
The original decision to throw out the case against Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was made by Federal Judge Daniel Rafecas in late February.
He made his conclusions after examining a 350-page report that had been prepared by special prosecutor Alberto Nisman before his unexplained death in January.
On March 26, the justice ministry said in a statement: “The federal appeals chamber ratifies the decision by Judge Daniel Rafecas to reject prosecutor Nisman’s accusation.”
The court of appeals agreed with Judge Daniel Rafecas’ conclusion that there was no evidence pointing to President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
The sudden death of Alberto Nisman and the case against Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has dominated Argentine headlines for much of this year.
The prosecutor was found dead in his apartment on January 18 with a bullet wound to the head and a pistol lying by his side.
Alberto Nisman had been only hours away from testifying in Congress against Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Foreign Minister Hector Timerman.
The circumstances of the prosecutor’s death are still unclear.
Earlier in March, Alberto Nisman’s family claimed independent tests showed that he was murdered.
The government has rejected any role in his death.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said Alberto Nisman had been fed misleading information by a rogue intelligence agent who was trying to discredit her government.
Eighty-five people died in the car bomb attack on July 18, 1994 which completely destroyed the seven-storey Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (Amia) cultural centre in Buenos Aires.
A controversial case against Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Foreign Minister Hector Timerman has been dismissed by a federal judge on February 26.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Hector Timerman had been accused of covering up alleged Iranian involvement in a bomb attack against Amia Jewish centre in 1994.
Judge Daniel Rafecas said that there was no merit to the accusation as no crime had occurred.
The accusation came from prosecutor Alberto Nisman who was found dead last month in his flat.
Judge Daniel Rafecas said he would discontinue the case.
“The evidence gathered far from meets the minimal standard,” said a statement from Argentina’s judiciary system.
Photo Wikipedia
Alberto Nisman was due to testify in Congress against Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner when his body was found.
The circumstances of his death have not been clarified.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said Alberto Nisman been fed misleading information by a rogue intelligence agent in order to discredit her government.
The president and the foreign minister had been accused of acting to hide their involvement in the Amia Jewish centre bombing – Argentina’s worst terrorist attack, in which 85 people died.
The lower house of the Argentine Congress has meanwhile approved a bill tabled by Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner scrapping the country’s secret agency, the Intelligence Secretariat.
The proposal was first announced days after Alberto Nisman’s death, on January 18.
A new federal investigative agency, which will be accountable to Congress, will replace it.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said the change was overdue because the agency had remained largely untouched since the end of military rule in 1983.
The opposition accused the government of coming up with the proposal as a smoke screen for its involvement in the Amia bombing scandal.
Hundreds of thousands of Argentines have rallied in Buenos Aires to mark one month since the death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman.
The protest was called by federal prosecutors and attended by Alberto Nisman’s family and opposition politicians.
They defied torrential rain to demand justice for Alberto Nisman, who had been investigating the government.
Prosecutor Alberto Nisman was found dead in his apartment on 18 January.
It is still not clear whether he killed himself or was murdered.
Alberto Nisman was investigating Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, the 1994 bombing of the Amia Jewish centre.
The silent march was called by prosecutors demanding a full investigation.
Alberto Nisman’s ex-wife, federal judge Sandra Arroyo Salgado, and their two daughters joined the demonstration, which lasted nearly two hours.
Similar protests took place across the country.
Argentines living in Spain, France, Israel and other countries also gathered to demand justice for Alberto Nisman.
Officials have denounced the march as a political move to weaken the government.
Alberto Nisman was found with a bullet wound to the head and a gun was lying next to him.
Days earlier, he had published a 300-page report in which he accused President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Foreign Minister Hector Timerman of covering up Iran’s alleged role in the bombing.
His body was found just hours before he was due to appear before a congressional committee to present more details of his allegations.
News of Alberto Nisman’s death and its timing led to speculation among some Argentines that the government may have played a role in it.
The government has strongly denied both allegations.
In an open letter published on her website, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner suggested rogue intelligence agents had fed Alberto Nisman false information in order to destabilize her government.
She also said she was convinced Alberto Nisman’s death was not suicide.
Days later, the president announced she planned to dissolve Argentina’s intelligence service, SI.
Critics said the move was aimed at diverting attention away from Alberto Nisman’s death.
Argentine prosecutor Gerardo Pollicita has asked a federal judge to investigate President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner over allegations she helped cover up Iranian links to a deadly 1994 bombing.
Gerardo Pollicita inherited the case from Alberto Nisman, who was found dead in mysterious circumstances.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner denies the allegations, with the government calling the probe an “anti-democratic attack”.
The attack on a Jewish centre killed 85 people. Iran also denies involvement.
Gerardo Pollicita’s move mean the judge will have to decide whether to authorize new investigations to prove the president’s alleged involvement.
If the prosecutor and the judge agree that there are enough elements to prove Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner committed a crime, she could face prosecution and be charged.
Before his death, Alberto Nisman had published a report on the attack on the Amia Jewish centre.
He alleged that the president and others had conspired to protect Iranian suspects in the bombing case in exchange for favorable deals on oil and other goods.
Alberto Nisman was found shot in the head in January, hours before he was due to give evidence to Congress.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s cabinet chief, Jorge Capitanich, accused the courts of trying to stage a “judicial coup” by pursuing the investigation, the AFP reported.
Twitter users in Argentina and China have ridiculed President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner for poking fun at how the Chinese speak.
During a visit to China, the Argentine leader made reference to how some Chinese struggle to pronounce the letter “r”.
Tweeting in Spanish, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner wondered whether those at an event about trade were there for “lice” and “petloleum”.
Her supporters said it was a light-hearted joke, but others disagreed.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner suggested that the Chinese struggled to pronounce “rice”, “petroleum” and “Campora”, the Spanish name given to the youth wing of her political party.
“More than 1,000 participants at the event… Are they all from the Campola and in it only for the lice and petloleum?” she tweeted.
It was a play on a domestic political joke: her critics accuse her supporters of attending party events only so they can get a free sandwich and a soft drink.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, a prolific Twitter user, later added: “Sorry. You know what? The levels of ridiculousness and absurdity are so high that they can only be digested with humor.”
Campola and China became trending topics on Twitter in Argentina and the episode filled the front pages of all newspapers.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was in China to boost trade with Argentina.
Prosecutor Alberto Nisman had planned an arrest warrant for Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, according to the woman investigating the prosecutor’s mysterious death.
Lead investigator Viviana Fein said the draft warrant was found in a rubbish bin in Alberto Nisman’s apartment complex.
Alberto Nisman was found dead in his Buenos Aires apartment last month, with a single bullet wound to the head.
Investigators have yet to establish if he killed himself, or was murdered.
Alberto Nisman had been investigating the 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires which killed 85 people.
He died hours before he was due to testify in Congress against President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, whom he had accused of covering up alleged Iranian involvement in the 1994 attack.
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has denied the allegation. Iran has also denied involvement in the attack.
Viviana Fein told a local radio station on February 3 that the draft warrant was “in the file”.
However, the document had not been included in a 300-page report submitted by Alberto Nisman to a federal court, days before his death.
The government dismissed as “garbage” a local newspaper report earlier this week that referred to the existence of the draft warrant.
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner had also originally described Alberto Nisman’s death as suicide. However, in a televised speech last week, the president suggested that rogue elements in Argentina’s intelligence service had fed Alberto Nisman false information and manipulated him.
The president announced plans to dismantle the Intelligence Secretariat (SI) and called for a special session of Congress to discuss a draft bill to that effect.
According to one of his colleagues, Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who died in unexplained circumstances, borrowed a gun because he did not trust the police protecting him.
Diego Lagomarsino lent Alberto Nisman a gun the day before he was found shot dead.
Alberto Nisman was about to testify about alleged attempts to cover up Iranian involvement in a bombing in 1994.
Prosecutors have yet to establish if he committed suicide or was killed. He will be buried on January 29.
Alberto Nisman had been due to appear in Congress to publicly accuse President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of being behind an attempt to hide the alleged involvement of Iranian suspects in the Jewish centre bombing, which killed 85 people.
He was found dead in his apartment on January 18.
On January 28, Alberto Nisman was mourned at a private wake. He will be buried on January 29 at a Jewish cemetery in La Tablada, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.
Photo AP
Diego Lagomarsino, a computer specialist and long-time acquaintance of Alberto Nisman, lent him the gun that killed him.
He told a news conference that Alberto Nisman had told him he “feared for the safety of his daughters”.
“I told him, <<Look this (gun) is old, it’s an old weapon… I don’t know if you will be able to protect yourself with it>>.
“He said to me, <<Don’t worry, it’s to have in the glove box just in case a crazy person with a stick comes up and says I am a traitor>>.”
Diego Lagomarsino, the last person to see Alberto Nisman alive, said he showed him how to load and unload the gun, but the prosecutor had assured him he would not use it.
But he added that Alberto Nisman had told him: “I don’t even trust my security detail.”
Diego Lagomarsino has been charged with giving a firearm to someone who was not the registered owner – the only person to be charged in the case so far.
Alberto Nisman’s security chief has been suspended and is under investigation along with two other members of his guard.
Ruben Benitez had co-ordinated a security team of 10 officers to protect Alberto Nisman.
Police say the team broke with protocol by remaining out of contact with Alberto Nisman for several hours on the day of his death and failing to report to their superiors.
In a national address on January 26 and in two letters, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner accused former intelligence agents of manipulating Alberto Nisman to bring charges against her.
She suggested he was killed to increase the damage to her.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner announced plans to disband Argentina’s intelligence services and replace them with a new agency.
Investigators have said they believe Alberto Nisman committed suicide, but have classified his death as suspicious because they could not rule out murder or an “induced suicide”.
Argentina’s intelligence agency will be dissolved, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has announced.
In a TV address, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said she would draft a bill to set up a new body.
She said the intelligence services had kept much of the same structure they had during the military government, which ended in 1983.
The move comes after the mysterious death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman – hours before he had been due to testify against senior government officials.
He had been investigating the bombing of a Jewish centre in the capital in 1994 which left 85 people dead.
Photo AFP
Alberto Nisman, 51, had accused several senior government figures – including President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Foreign Minister Hector Timerman – of involvement in a plot to cover up Iran’s alleged role in the bombing.
“I have prepared a bill to reform the intelligence service,” the president said, adding that she wanted the proposal to be discussed at an urgent session of Congress.
“The plan is to dissolve the Intelligence Secretariat and create a Federal Intelligence Agency,” Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said that a new leadership should be chosen by a president but would be subject to a Senate approval.
“Combating impunity has been a priority of my government,” she added.
Alberto Nisman was found dead on 18 January in his flat in Buenos Aires. A gun was also discovered there.
Investigators initially said they believed he had committed suicide, but later said they could not rule out homicide or “induced suicide”.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has said she is convinced Alberto Nisman’s death was not suicide.
Argentine journalist Damian Pachter who is believed to have been the first to report the death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman says he has fled the country, fearing for his life.
Damian Pachter, who works for the Buenos Aires Herald, left Argentina early on Saturday.
Alberto Nisman’s body was found in his apartment a week ago, hours before he was due to testify in Congress.
The prosecutor had been investigating the bombing of a Jewish centre in the capital in 1994 which left 85 people dead.
Alberto Nisman, 51, had accused several senior government figures – including President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Foreign Minister Hector Timerman – of involvement in a plot to cover up Iran’s alleged role in the bombing.
“I am leaving because my life is in danger,” Damian Pachter told the news website Infobae.com.
“My phones have been extensively tapped.”
Damian Pachter said he would return to Argentina when his sources told him conditions had changed.
On January 22, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said she was convinced that Alberto Nisman’s death was not suicide.
Investigators initially said they believed Alberto Nisman had committed suicide, but later said they could not rule out homicide or “induced suicide”.
Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner says she is convinced the death of federal prosecutor Alberto Nisman was not suicide.
Alberto Nisman, 51, was found shot dead in his apartment on January 18.
The prosecutor probing Alberto Nisman’s death said it appeared to be suicide.
In a letter published on January 22, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner cast doubt on that theory.
Alberto Nisman had been investigating the 1994 deadly bombing of a Jewish centre.
Eighty-five people died in the bombing in Buenos Aires. It was Argentina’s worst terrorist attack.
Days prior to his death, Alberto Nisman had accused Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Foreign Minister Hector Timerman of involvement in a plot to cover up Iran’s alleged role in the 1994 bombing on the seven-storey AMIA community centre.
He died just hours before he was due to give details of his allegations to a congressional committee.
Alberto Nisman based his allegations on intercepted conversations which seem to suggest Argentine intelligence officers tried to whitewash the Iranian suspects in the 1994 bombing.
In a 300-page report, Alberto Nisman alleged that after years of tension caused by the 1994 bombing, the government of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was keen to improve ties with Iran in order to trade Argentine grain for badly needed oil.
Government spokesman Anibal Fernandez dismissed the allegations on January 21 as “absolutely feeble”.
In a letter published on her Twitter account, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said Alberto Nisman had been provided with “false information” and that the spies he quoted were not really spies at all but had misled him deliberately.
She also referred to his death as “the suicide (I’m convinced) was no suicide”.
Investigating prosecutor Viviane Fein had said on January 19 that there had been “no intervention” from others in Alberto Nisman’s death.
The prosecutor said the bullet found lodged in his head had been fired at close range from the gun which had been found lying next to Alberto Nisman’s body.
Viviane Fein added that the apartment’s door had been locked from the inside and that the key was in the lock.
She said there was no evidence of any outside “intervention”, although she did not rule out the possibility that Alberto Nisman had been “induced” to kill himself.
Relatives and friends of Alberto Nisman, who had spoken to him in the days prior to his death, said he appeared confident and in good spirits, although he did mention receiving threats.
Media speculation about whether Alberto Nisman’s death was a suicide has been mounting as new statements and evidence emerge.
On January, it was revealed that a test failed to detect any gunshot residue on Alberto Nisman’s hands.
While Viviane Fein said that the negative result could be due to the small caliber of the gun, it reignited suspicion that Alberto Nisman did not pull the trigger.
Remarks made by the locksmith who was called to gain access to Alberto Nisman’s flat further fuelled speculation.
The man, who only gave his name as Walter, described how it had taken him only two minutes to get in.
He said that the service door “was closed but not locked” and that it had been easy to “simply push the key” which was on the inside with the help of a wire.
“If someone entered or not, I don’t know,” he added.
Apart from the locked main door and the service door, investigators have found a third way into the apartment.
They said a narrow corridor housing air conditioning equipment linked Alberto Nisman’s apartment to that of a neighbor.
Recent footprints and fingerprints found inside the corridor are currently being tested.
Argentine federal prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who accused President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner last week of a cover-up has been found dead at his home in the capital, Buenos Aires.
Alberto Nisman was investigating the 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires in which 85 people died.
On January 14, he accused Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of involvement in a plot to cover up Iran’s alleged role in the bombing.
The president’s spokesman dismissed the allegations as “ridiculous”.
Alberto Nisman, 51, was found dead by his mother in the bathroom of his home.
The Security Ministry released a statement saying that Alberto Nisman’s bodyguards had raised the alarm after he failed to answer their phone calls on January 18.
Concerned about his welfare, they fetched Alberto Nisman’s mother and tried to enter his apartment, the statement said.
They found the door locked from the inside with a key still stuck inside.
After a locksmith gained access, they found Alberto Nisman’s body in the bathroom.
According to the statement, a gun and a cartridge shell were found next to his body.
Alberto Nisman was due to give evidence at a congressional committee hearing on January 19 to outline his accusations against President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and other officials.
He had published a 300-page report on January 14 alleging that the president and Foreign Minister Hector Timerman had opened a secret back channel to Iranians suspected of involvement in the bombing of the community centre.
Alberto Nisman alleged that the scheme was intended to clear the Iranian suspects in order to facilitate a trade deal between Iran and Argentina.
He said that he had issued a request that a judge question the president and the foreign minister “for being authors and accomplices of an aggravated cover-up and obstruction of justice regarding the Iranians accused of the AMIA [Israeli-Argentine Mutual Association] terrorist attack”.
The car bombing of the seven-storey building was the worst terrorist attack in Argentina’s history.
In 2007, Argentine prosecutors accused Iran of planning and financing the attack, and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah of carrying it out.
Iran dismissed the allegations as “baseless”.
So far, no-one has been convicted in connection with the AMIA attack.
Last July, at events marking the 20th anniversary of the bombing, Pope Francis demanded justice for the victims.
Ratings agency S & P declared Argentina in default after the government missed a deadline for paying interest on $13 billion of restructured bonds.
Argentina has defaulted on its debt for the second time in 13 years after last-minute talks in New York with a group of bond-holders ended in failure.
So-called “vulture fund” investors were demanding a full pay-out of $1.3 billion on bonds they hold.
Argentina has said it cannot afford to do so, and has accused them of using its debt problems to make a big profit.
A US judge had set a deadline of 04:00 GMT on Thursday for a deal. The crisis stems from Argentina’s 2001 default.
Late on Wednesday evening, Argentina’s Economy Minister Axel Kicillof said the investors had rejected the government’s latest offer.
Argentina has defaulted on its debt for the second time in 13 years after last-minute talks in New York with a group of bond-holders ended in failure
“Unfortunately, no agreement was reached and the Republic of Argentina will imminently be in default,” Daniel Pollack, the court-appointed mediator in the case, said in a statement on Wednesday evening.
The fresh default is not expected to affect Argentina’s economy in the same way it did in 2001, when dozens were killed in street protests and the authorities froze savers’ accounts to halt a run on the banks.
“The full consequences of default are not predictable, but they certainly are not positive,” Daniel Pollack said.
Speaking at a news conference in New York, Axel Kicillof said Argentina would not do anything illegal.
The investors, also known as “hold-outs”, are US hedge funds that bought debt cheaply after Argentina’s economic crisis.
They never agreed to the restructuring accepted by the majority of bond-holders.
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has described as vultures the minority bond-holders – including Aurelius Capital Management and NML Capital.
She accuses them of taking advantage of Argentina’s debt problems to make large profits.
S&P noted that it could revise the rating if Argentina were to find some way to make the payments.
The hedge funds are demanding Argentina make interest payments on debt which it defaulted on in 2001, even though it was bought at less than face value.
The US courts have blocked payments to other bondholders who agreed a separate deal with Argentina, until agreement with the “hold-outs” is reached.
Axel Kicillof said he planned to return to Argentina after the news conference, saying the country would do what is needed to deal with what he called an unfair situation.
Economy Minister Axel Kicillof has returned to the negotiating table in a last-ditch attempt to prevent Argentina defaulting on its bonds.
Axel Kicillof’s talks with “hold-out” investors ended late on Tuesday night in New York without agreement.
They are demanding a full pay-out of $1.3 billion on the bonds they hold.
Argentina can’t afford to pay the so-called hold-out creditors and risks a new bond default (photo Reuters)
A US judge has ruled that the “hold-outs” must be paid by Wednesday night if no deal is agreed.
The government’s rhetoric has been clear.
The “hold-outs” are US hedge funds that bought debt on the cheap during Argentina’s darkest hours and never agreed to restructuring.
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner calls them vultures, accusing them of taking advantage of Argentina’s debt problems to make a big profit.
What makes the problem worse is that if the “hold-outs” get their way, other bondholders who agreed to take cuts of up to 70% in what they are owed may also demand full repayment.
Despite the defiant tone of the government, many people seem resigned. Argentina has defaulted before and most probably will do it again.
Vladimir Putin is visiting Argentina as part of his Latin American tour in an apparent bid to seek allies to counter US and Western influence.
The Russian president spent Friday in Cuba – the first stop of his tour – before making an unexpected visit to Nicaragua, the first by a Russian leader.
Vladimir Putin will meet left-wing regional heads of state in Argentina.
Vladimir Putin has been holding bilateral talks with President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner during his visit to Argentina
He goes onto Brazil to attend the football World Cup final on July 13.
Russia will host the next tournament in 2018.
Later Vladimir Putin will attend a summit of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) emerging economies in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza.
Vladimir Putin has been holding bilateral talks with Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
Correspondents say Argentina is desperate for foreign investment as it faces a possible default after investors rejected its debt restructuring.
Vladimir Putin will then have dinner with other South American leaders including the presidents of Venezuela, Bolivia and Uruguay.
In an unauthorized biography of Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, author Lindner Franco tells about lovers, bookmarks, money, business and power are the ingredients that make up the life of a woman of character, personality, and these same characteristics are repeated in men who choose politics.
Lindner Franco’s Los Amores de Cristina (The Lovers of Cristina) is also presenting a dialogue between Vice President Amado Boudou and banker Jorge Brito, to which the President was so convinced he was behind a run on currencies to collapse the peso.
The rumors about a possible romance between Amado Boudou and Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner ran like wildfire in Buenos Aires
“Tell the president that I have nothing to do with that,” says the banker to Amado Boudou.
“Do not be problem. I talk to the mommy and I solve it” Amado Boudou responds.
But the phones were tapped and Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner heard the dialogue; it was “the beginning of the end for Boudou”.
“The rumors about a possible romance between the number 1 and number 2 of the Government ran like wildfire in Buenos Aires.”
“The governor of Chaco province Jorge <<Coqui>> Capitanich was convinced he would be chosen to accompany Cristina as vice president in elections. He learned a couple of hours before the president made the announcement that it would be Boudou.”
Jorge Capitanich confided to a journalist: “That’s very disappointed. The policy makes sense. Boudou as VP doesn’t, it’s another thing.”
Amado Boudou is now being charged in a corruption case. He is suspected of using his influence when he was economy minister to ensure that a contract to print Argentina’s currency was awarded to a company he allegedly controlled.
Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has made her first public appearance in six weeks, ending a long silence that led to questions about her health following brain surgery.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was welcomed by hundreds of supporters at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires.
In a televised address, she announced a plan to help unemployed young people.
The president dismissed speculation about her health and criticized Argentina’s media.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was welcomed by hundreds of supporters at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner had an operation on October 8 to remove a blood clot from her brain and returned to work on November 18.
But she had not spoken in public since a high-profile ceremony in Buenos Aires on December 10.
“They wanted to create the impression among the Argentine people that I couldn’t do it anymore,” she said, referring to the media, which is largely hostile to her government.
“The truth is I had some problems, but I would like to see who, facing the same problems, would have continued to govern for 40 million Argentines,” the president said.
“I hope nobody criticizes this nationally televised address after demanding my presence so much,” she added ironically.
The opposition said Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner had “disappeared” as the country’s economic crisis worsened.
Argentina has restricted online shopping as part of efforts to stop foreign currency reserves from falling any further.
According to new conditions, anyone buying items through international websites will now need to sign a declaration and produce it at a customs office, where the packages have to be collected.
The procedure will need to be repeated for every new purchase.
Argentina’s reserves of hard currencies dropped by 30% last year.
The government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has introduced a number of restrictions on transactions with foreign currency.
Items imported through websites such as Amazon and eBay are no longer delivered to people’s home addresses. The parcels need to be collected from the customs office.
Argentina has restricted online shopping as part of efforts to stop foreign currency reserves from falling any further
Individuals are allowed to buy items up to the value of $25 from abroad tax free every year, but it has been hard for custom officials to keep accurate records of consumers’ transactions.
Once the $25 level is reached, online shoppers in Argentina need to pay a 50% tax on each item bought from international websites.
The government hopes that new declaration will make it easier for customs officials to enforce the import tax.
New currency controls were introduced a week after Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was re-elected in 2011.
Among the restrictions introduced more recently was a 35% tariff on credit card transaction abroad.
Despite the government’s efforts, Argentina’s reserves are now below $30 billion – their lowest level since 2006.
Currency controls, which were common in most countries until the mid-1980s were dropped in Argentina in 1991. Finance Minister Domingo Cavallo pegged the local currency, the peso, to the dollar.
The plan collapsed 10 years later, when the government was forced to devalue its currency.
Argentina eventually froze bank accounts and defaulted on its debts. It has since struggled to attract foreign loans at market rates.
Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has received medical clearance from doctors to return to work.
A month ago Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner underwent surgery to remove a brain clot on her brain.
A government spokesman, Alfredo Scoccimarro, said the results from scans the president had on Friday had been satisfactory.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, 60, is expected to resume her official duties on Monday.
“On Monday there will be a medical re-evaluation to determine the pace at which she can resume her daily tasks,” said Alfredo Scoccimarro.
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has received medical clearance from doctors to return to work
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner won’t be allowed to fly for at least another 30 days, and she’ll undergo further tests on December 9.
The Argentine president had surgery on October 8 to remove blood that had pooled on the surface of her brain after she fell and knocked her head.
While Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has been receiving treatment, her allies have suffered heavy losses in mid-term elections that reduced her majority in congress, ending any speculation that she may try to amend the constitution to allow her to run for a third term in office.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is due to leave office in two years time.
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