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Argentine Jewish community asks Washington to reveal whereabouts of former spymaster

Thursday, October 8th 2015 - 08:37 UTC
Full article 15 comments
Allegedly AMIA delegates hand-delivered a letter to US Ambassador Mamet, asking that Washington turn over information relating to  “Jaime” Stiuso Allegedly AMIA delegates hand-delivered a letter to US Ambassador Mamet, asking that Washington turn over information relating to “Jaime” Stiuso
Stiuso departed from Porto Alegre; Brasil to Miami at 12.05 pm in an American Airlines flight, using an Italian passport, reported an Argentine channel Stiuso departed from Porto Alegre; Brasil to Miami at 12.05 pm in an American Airlines flight, using an Italian passport, reported an Argentine channel
Stiuso is believed to have worked closely with Alberto Nisman, the government prosecutor who had been tasked with looking into the July 1994 bombing. Stiuso is believed to have worked closely with Alberto Nisman, the government prosecutor who had been tasked with looking into the July 1994 bombing.

The Argentine Jewish community has requested that the United States reveal the whereabouts of their country’s former spymaster – who reportedly fled to Miami in February following the shooting death of a prosecutor investigating the 1994 car bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people and injured hundreds.

 According to a report by Telam, the government's official news agency, representatives of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina, AMIA, hand-delivered a letter to US Ambassador Noah Mamet, asking that Washington turn over information relating to Antonio “Jaime” Stiuso, who is wanted for questioning by Argentina's government. Such a request is “consistent with our ongoing concern in the search for memory, truth and justice for the terrorist attack” against AMIA, the letter declared.

Stiuso is believed to have worked closely with prosecutor Alberto Nisman, the government prosecutor who had been tasked with looking into the July 1994 bombing. Nisman was found dead in his apartment earlier this year, only hours before he was due to testify to Congress regarding allegations that President Cristina Fernández had attempted to interfere with his investigation.

Last year an Argentine court struck down as unconstitutional an agreement with Iran for the formation of a joint Truth Commission to investigate the bombing. Many believe that the Iranians played a role in the planning of the bombing, and Argentine courts have previously called for the extradition of several Iranians suspected of involvement in the attack.

Interpol in Brazil confirmed Stiuso took a flight from that country to the United State on February 19, only a few hours after it had been confirmed that he had testified before Viviana Fein, the prosecutor in charge of the investigation into the mysterious death of Nisman.

Stiuso departed from the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre to Miami at 12.05 pm in an American Airlines flight, using an Italian passport, the C5N news channel reported. The day before, Fein had confirmed Stiuso had testified in the Nisman case. The then AMIA special prosecutor was found dead with a gunshot to his head back in January in his Buenos Aires City apartment.

Cristina Fernandez and her ministers say that Stiuso duped Nisman into fabricating unfounded allegations to destabilize the government and then needed him dead, and have previously questioned whether the spy chief was working for the United States.

Last month the results of new tests on the gun believed to have killed Alberto Nisman appear to negate the possibility that AMIA special prosecutor committed suicide. The new tests seem to support the theory that someone else shot Nisman and cleaned away the incriminating handprints.

Top Comments

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  • Conqueror

    Anyone believe this? AMIA wants the US to hand over information to argieland so that Stiuso can be “hit”? Just like Nisman was “hit”? Why not ask Mossad?

    Oct 08th, 2015 - 10:56 am 0
  • ElaineB

    The Argentines lost him, they should find him. Except they can't.

    Oct 08th, 2015 - 01:37 pm 0
  • Enrique Massot

    It's excellent that AMIA has taken clear position and supported Argentina's request to know Stiuso whereabouts.
    Judges working on four different legal files want to interrogate him as a witness.
    Argentina has not put an extradition request. That is why Brazil Interpol promptly responded to the blue alert.
    It's suggestive that the U.S. is dragging their feet by assimilating the request to an extradition process, which of course is subject to long delays. If this stance continues, it would indeed provide strong support for allegations about Stiuso's links with the U.S. intelligence and key Republicans.

    #1 Conqueror
    “Just like Nisman was 'hit'?”
    How do you know that? Fiscal Viviana Fein is now interrogating those who communicated with Nisman during his last days or hours. And Stiuso's testimony will be key to determine what happened to Nisman. No need for know-it-all to tell us in advance the end of the story.

    Oct 08th, 2015 - 05:18 pm 0
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