MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina's Security Minister says her predecessor's buying weapons sent to Bolivia is a “proven” fact

“I don't think it would have been possible to do this in a legal way,” Frederic explained

Argentina's Security Minister Sabina Frederic Friday said there was proof corroborating that her predecessor Patricia Bullrich was behind the shipment of weapons and ammunition to Bolivia during the revolt that toppled Evo Morales.

 Frederic explained that inconsistencies found between the documented information left by the Gendarmería Nacional (GN - Border Guard) and then Defense Minister Oscar Aguad “allow us to ratify this complaint of aggravated smuggling.”

She added that there was no way goods that size “could have left [the country] legally.“

The Minister stressed that ”it is proven“ that the anti-riot weapons found in the warehouses of the Bolivian police were bought by Bullrich.

“We have found a lot of documentation and also inconsistencies between the documented information left by the GN and Aguad. These inconsistencies are data that allow us to ratify this complaint of aggravated smuggling,” Frederic said in a radio interview.

Bolivia's Government Minister Eduardo del Castillo has exhibited in a press conference earlier this week 26,900 of the 70,000 ammunition found in police warehouses, corresponding to the material sent from Argentina. “It is already proven that they are from the set Patricia Bullrich bought for the G20 in 2018,” Frederic said.

“It is clear that everything happened between November 11 and 13“ 2019, Frederic underlined, as she advised Bullrich to look for arguments to present her case to the judges.

“There is a lot of documentation that makes them responsible,” whether they knew about it or not, Frederic said regarding to former President Mauricio Macri and his closest aides.

However, Frederic admitted that the fate of the ”40,000 ammunition“ thanked in a letter by former Bolivian Air Force Chief Jorge Gonzalo Terceros to then Argentine ambassador to Bolivia Normando Álvarez García remains a mystery.

”We understand that 40,000 would have gone to the Bolivian armed forces and 30,000 to the police, that seems to be the agreement,“ Frederic explained. She added that since this shipment was not declared in the cargo manifest, there must be some foul play, but due to the size of the material ”there is no way it could have come out legally“ and recalled that Macri ”at the time supported and ratified the presidency of Jeanine Áñez.”

Despite Macri's ideological allignment with Áñez, “having the support of Congress to send ammunition would have been quite difficult for him; I don't think it would have been possible to do this in a legal way,” Frederic explained.

At any rate, Frederic warned that “we are very careful with the information we give,” because it might hinder the ongoing investigation.