MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine officials admit “money messenger” visited Government House

It was Antonini Wilson after all who can be seen in the Casa Rosada video

Argentine Cabinet Chief Aníbal Fernández admitted on Monday that the video footage showing the Venezuelan-American businessman Guido Antonini Wilson at Casa Rosada, the seat of the Executive Office, in 2007 is not faked.

Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson visited the government's house some days after local authorities seized an undeclared sum of money amounting to 800,000 US dollars that Antonini tried to smuggle into Argentina. This was the beginning of the so-called suitcase scandal.

“I saw the tape on TV and I consider that it is true,” said Cabinet Chief Fernández. On Friday, the Argentine official had questioned the veracity of the video. “I made a mistake. What is the problem? It will be worst if I lied,” he said.

Fernández highlighted that he was the official responsible for the discovery of Antonini's attempt to smuggle money into Argentina and he asked relevant officials to issue an arrest warrant against the Venezuelan businessman.

Fernández said that an Argentine court commenced an administrative proceeding to determine the reasons why the name of Antonini Wilson does not appear in the records of visits to Casa Rosada.

”I checked all security controls. Access to the Government House is very stiff. I was concerned as a Minister of Security that there were no records of Antonini's visit to Casa Rosada. Therefore, for me, he had not entered the palace, Fernández said.

In a Sunday interview with a Buenos Aires daily Antonini revealed that when he visited Casa Rosada he was not checked on entering because he was accompanied by members of staff from Planning Minister Julio De Vido, an influential member of the Kirchner couple inner circle.

”We went in through a lateral door, climbed stairs and reached a hall with metal detectors as those in the airports, but we side walked. Nobody asked any questions”, said Antonini Wilson. “I knew this was because I was part of De Vido’s group”.

The suitcase stuffed with 800.000 US dollars triggered a major scandal in 2007 when during a trial of alleged Venezuelan agents in Miami it was revealed that the funds were sent by President Hugo Chavez to help with the electoral campaign of Senator Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner who in October that year was elected Argentine president.

A few days later in August 2007 Antonini Wilson finally left for Uruguay and Miami where he was approached by Venezuelan undercover agents to return to Argentina and admit smuggling and money laundering crimes in exchange for money and a “short sentence”.

With dual citizenship, Venezuela and US Antonini Wilson never accepted the deal (direct suggestion from President Chavez as was revealed later during the court process) and rather trusted the FBI that arrested the undercover agents, had them sent to court and finally sentenced to several-years imprisonment.

The trial also revealed that this kind of flights in contracted aircraft by Argentine and Venezuelan officials was quite regular. The money sent from Venezuela was invested in electoral campaigns, organizing political rallies in Buenos Aires such as the one when former US president George Bush was visiting neighbouring Uruguay, only fifty miles away or to finance export operations of house kits and school books from Uruguay to Venezuela.