MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile apologizes to Argentina for espionage incident.

Chilean Foreign Secretary Soledad Alvear this Monday formally apologized to the Argentine Ambassador in the name of the Chilean government, for the military espionage attempt at the Argentine consulate in Punta Arenas.

Argentine Ambassador Carlos Abihaggle after meeting with Ms. Alvear for over an hour in Santiago de Chile said that in spite of the incident, "relations between Argentina and Chile remain strong".

In Buenos Aires President Kirchner administration praised the "immediate" response of the Chilean government to the burglary and espionage attempt in the Punta Arenas consular office that led to the "resignation of high ranking Chilean Army officers".

The Chilean government admitted that the unidentified persons who last Sunday broke into the Argentine consulate in Punta Arenas belonged to Army military intelligence, although acting "independently".

In an official release the Chilean Ministry of Defence regrets and condemns the events discovered by Argentine Deputy Consul Jose Andres Basbus who struggled with one of the intruders in an attempt to prevent him from taking copies of classified documents.

The two officers involved belong to the Punta Arenas Army Region and "acted independently and without superior instructions, seriously compromising government policy and violating current institutional regulations", reads the Defence release.

The release also stated that President Ricardo Lagos had ordered the Defence Minister to review and update all intelligence procedures and regulations and report back to him as soon as possible.

The Commander of the Magallanes Army Region, General Waldo Zauritz Sepúlveda assumed full responsibility for the incident and tendered his resignation which was accepted. Lt. Colonel Victor Hugo Pozo Reyes, head of the Intelligence Unit was discharged from the Army.

The Argentine Foreign Office said that the quick response of the Chilean government to the incident corresponds "with the current bilateral relation".

"The immediate opening of judicial and administrative inquiries, the resignation of high ranking military officers and the official Ministry of Defence release regretting and condemning the inexcusable and stupid incident, are valuable acts towards the growing transparency and cooperation existent between our countries".

The Argentine government in spite of the seriousness of the incident never doubted the "nature and depth of relations" achieved by the peoples and governments of Argentina and Chile, said the release from the Argentine Foreign Office.

Last Sunday, two unidentified men were caught sifting through documents from an open safe at the Argentine consulate in Punta Arenas, 1,500 miles south of Santiago.

Argentine Deputy Consul Jose Andres Basbus had gone to the consular office that morning to enable residents of the Argentine province of Chubut to cast absentee ballots for that Sunday's regional elections, when he discovered the two men going through files and photo-copying documents.

Mr. Basbus scuffled with one of the burglars but both finally managed to escape leaving behind their jackets, a video recorder, sunglasses, keys, photocopies of a number of official documents and a briefcase.

In a pocket of one of the jackets, authorities found the Chilean ID of Luis Alberto Robles Ricus, as well as a gun licence in his name.

The Chilean Defence Ministry release makes no mention of this individual. However Punta Arenas police admitted Robles Ricus was a resident of the city but did not have a criminal record.