MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Timerman ‘appalled’ by ‘heinous’ killing of French tourists in north Argentina

The Argentine minister sent a personal letter to his French peer

Argentine Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman sent a letter to his French counterpart, Alain Juppé, in which he expressed being “appalled” over the killing of two French tourists in the Salta province.

According to Ministry sources, the letter assured that “the entire country is consternated over such a terrible crime.”

“The Argentine Foreign Ministry is in constant communication with the national and provincial authorities currently working hard in order to solve this case,” the letter reads.

Timerman also points out that he is in touch with the French ambassador in Argentina Jean-Pierre Asvazadourian.

The letter ends assuring that “the Argentine people join France in such a painful moment, the result of the heinous murders of Houria and Cassandre.”

The two French women were murdered at the Quebrada de San Lorenzo area, in the Salta province, northwest Argentina. So far only one suspect has been arrested in connection to the case, but was later released because of insufficient evidence. .

The suspect, who rented horses to tourists in the area, was identified as 43-year old Francisco Ariel Tejada.

Tejada was arrested early on Monday, under suspicion of being involved in the brutal murder of 23-year old Moumni Houria and 29-year old Cassandre Bouvier.

On Monday, the judge investigating the case decided to release Tejada over the lack of incriminating evidence to keep him in jail.

During his interrogation, Tejada assured he was unaware of the murders, for which forensic investigators will now compare his DNA samples with the evidence collected at the scene of the crime.

“We collected genetic samples from both victims. We performed vaginal and anal swabs on one of the girls and obtained a hair sample found in Bouvier’s clenched fist,” Judge Pérez assured, adding that the kind of sexual violence with which the killer had attacked her “has no precedence in the province.”

Tejada’s wife, Dominga González, assured that her husband “never left their home” and insisted that he was being arrested “only because he is poor.”