MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ezeiza drugs scandal sweeps with Air Force chief.

Argentine president Nestor Kirchner named this Friday a new Air Force Commander following a drug traffic scandal involving the airline Southern Winds and the Aeronautics police in the country's main air terminal Ezeiza in Buenos Aires.

The new commander is Brigadier General Eduardo Schiaffino, a helicopter pilot and Malvinas veteran who was until today head of the South Region Area seated in Comodoro Rivadavia. He was named Brigadier last December 31, so forcing 17 other senior officers into retirement.

Apparently the decision was reached mid day Friday during a meeting of President Kirchner and Defence Minister Jose Pampuro originally convened to assess the scandalous situation in the Aeronautic Police (an Air Force branch), which is responsible for the custody of Argentine airports but allegedly was passively involved in drug trafficking from Ezeiza airport.

Apparently President Kirchner decided the removal unsatisfied with the report from former Air Force Commander Carlos Rhode explaining how Ezeiza airport controls had failed to detect 60 kilos of cocaine, in four suitcases, dispatched in a Southern Winds flight to Spain.

The Aeronautic Police had been previously decapitated and a civilian, Deputy Defence Minister Jaime Garreta, named as superintendent for 45 days.

President Kirchner was furious with the fact that Air Force commanders apparently knew about the cocaine smuggling since last October when Southern Winds denounced the traffic, but he only got word of what was going on from Customs.

Besides the main suspect involved in the drug smuggling is Walter Beltrame, son of the former Chief of Ezeiza Airport, Air Force Commodore Alberto Beltrame who was also sacked.

President Kirchner, speaking from Mar del Plata said it was the "Air Force's duty to keeps us informed and report that drug trafficking was going on in Ezeiza airport; now it's up to the courts to decide, which we all expect will proceed strongly and quickly".

However Rosendo Fraga an expert in military affairs described the Air Force sacking incident as "excessive" particularly following last Tuesday' press conference when Defence minister Jose Pampuro openly defended the Air Force and Aeronautical Police.

"It could be an over reaction to the institutional defence of the Air Force and Police when the first impacts of the drug smuggling to Spain came to the open", said Mr. Fraga.

The sacked Commander in Chief of the Air Force, Carlos Rhode is also a Malvinas veteran who piloted a Mirage V-Dagger and was distinguished several times.