MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Buenos Aires Security Minister takes the fall for Saturday's incidents

Martín Ocampo was Security Minister of the City of Buenos Aires until Monday, but he remains compadre with Boca president Daniel Angelici

Buenos Aires City Security Minister Martín Ocampo Monday resigned his post, thus taking the blame for Saturday's sloppy operation which failed to prevent the bus carrying the Boca Juniors players to River Plate's Monumental stadium from being attacked by hooligans of the home team.

Argentina's top two football clubs were to clash for the second leg of the Libertadores Cup final after a 2-2 draw at Boca's Bombonera stadium a fortnight ago. But since Boca captain Pablo Pérez got his left eye injured by pieces of broken bus glass while some of his teammates had been affected by police teargas, the game had to be rescheduled three times on Saturday, then postponed for Sunday and eventually cancelled pending a South American Confederation decision due Tuesday at their Asunción headquarters.

“The [security] operation could have been better,” admitted Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta as Buenos Aires is about two days away from hosting the G-20 Summit featuring dignataries of the highest level from the world's leading countries.

Ocampo's duties will be taken over by Deputy Mayor Diego Santilli, it was announced.

But the irony of it all lies in the fact that government authorities - both city and nation - cried the entire weekend for “the violent barrabrava ones” to be repelled by the people, as they admitted there was some sort of connection between these groups and football club boards.

How could the government not know? Mauricio Macri was first president of Boca Juniors. He then became Mayor of Buenos Aires, but capaigned for Daniel Angelici to be elected to succeed him. Also participating in that campaign was no other than Angelici's compadre (reciprocate godfathers of one of each other's children) Martín Ocampo who has always acknowledged he was a River Plate fan.

Ocampo served as city legislator and later as Chief Prosecutor during the Macri years. He became Security Minister when Larreta - cabinet chief under Macri - took office to succeed his boss, who was moving into the Casa Rosada.

Meanwhile, Santilli's father Hugo was River Plate president in the 1980s when the club won their first Libertadores Cup title. And his brother Darío is a serving member of River Plate's current board.

MercoPress - Buenos Aires