MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine consulate Chilean spies sentenced.

Eighteen months after Argentina and Chile were rattled by the espionage incident in Punta Arenas when Chilean military intelligence staff was caught red handed spying inside the Argentine consulate, the four culprits were sentenced this week by a Chilean military court.

The two former Army officers involved, Mayor Rodrigo Francisco Acuña and Lieutenant Colonel Victor Hugo Poza Reyes were given a suspended sentence of 61 days arrest, while Corporals Luis Alberto Robles Ricus, Army, and Jaime Alejandro Espinoza Catalán, Air Force, were sentenced to two months in jail.

All four belonged to the Special Joint Intelligence Station, DEI2, dependent from the Chilean Army's Austral Military Region in Punta Arenas.

However defence counsel Ladislao Ureta argued that the line of command shows that DEI2 receives orders from the Military Region, which relates directly to the Chilean Ministry of Defence, and DEI2 was specifically created to coordinate military intelligence and counter intelligence operations in the extreme south of the country. "And November 9, 2003 operation was a specific action in accordance with military internal regulations". "The political responsibility of the incident rests entirely in the Chilean Ministry of Defence", highlighted Mr. Ureta.

Further more if finally the four servicemen are convicted because they committed a "crime", then all intelligence and counterintelligence operations are the workings of an "illicit organization", punishable by common criminal law, and "this is the worst message that can be sent to professional staff" who, complying orders and duty are dedicated to gather information for national defence, pointed out Mr. Ureta.

The defence intelligence community, "could have committed mistakes when caught, but mistakes are not punishable as crimes but as administrative sanctions, which effectively happened".

Actually the two Army officers were discharged from the force. The Commander of the Austral Military Region who had been tipped as a possible Commander in Chief of the Chilean Army resigned, and even more embarrassing the incident forced President Ricardo Lagos to personally apologize on the telephone to Argentine president Nestor Kirchner.

Counsel Ureta anticipated he will appeal the sentence before the Court Martial and if necessary will consider going all the way to Chile's Supreme Court.

Sunday November 9, two years ago the two corporals under the command of Mayor Acuña and following orders from Lieutenant Colonel Poza Reyes, were surprised red handed photographing documents in the Argentine consulate by Argentine diplomat Andres Basbus.

The spies managed to flee but left behind a brief case with a video and a jacket with Robles Ricus ID.