MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Menem requests temporary residence in Chile

Former Argentine president Carlos Menem confirmed he had applied for temporary residence in Chile but promised he will be visiting Argentina “very soon” to meet his grandson.

In an interview with a Santiago newspaper Mr. Menem said he will only respond to judicial summons in Argentina when "there are sufficient guarantees".

The Migration Office of the Chilean Ministry of Interior reported that Mr. Menem had personally requested Chilean residence last Friday. Mr. Menem apparently had decided to remain with his wife Cecilia Bolocco and four months old child Maximo Saúl in Santiago. Until now he travelled permanently between Argentina and Chile.

Temporary residence is for one year but can be extended and finally become definitive.

Mr. Menen has been summoned by Argentine Federal Justice Norberto Oyarbide who is investigating alleged private accounts of the former president in Swiss banks.

"I will respond to the summons once the attorneys working with me tell me that the appropriate conditions are given and I can travel to Argentina. We've presented several appeals and once they've been considered in the coming days or months, I will be there", underlined the former president arguing that that "guarantees are insufficient" and "I believe the Kirchner administration is disarticulating the Judiciary".
"Judges are under constant, sometimes unbearable pressure from the Executive", stressed Mr. Menem.
The former president said he had talked with his daughter Zulemita who gave birth to a boy, Luca in Buenos Aires.
"She was very emotional, almost to tears, and something similar happened to me".