MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine opposition against Blue Hole Law to protect site of sunken submarine

Macri is also being sued for illegally spying on people

Relatives of the Argentine Navy's ARA San Juan's crew have voiced their anger at the opposition Juntos por el Cambio (JxC) lawmakers not endorsing a bill to protect the area where the remains of the submarine were found.

The lawyer representing the families of the doomed sailors likened JxC's attitude to “a slap in the face.”

Relatives of the crew who died in the 2017 wreck are seeking a declaration for the area where the remains of the submarine were found in order to allow for further investigations.

“We are not surprised by the attitude of Juntos por el Cambio. It is the same every time it is about the ARA San Juan. There what comes is the mistreatment, the slap in the face. And this time it was no different,” said lawyer Valeria Carreras, who represents most families suing the State both for compensation and for acts of espionage against them by the government of then-President Mauricio Macri.

The bill, drafted by Congresswoman Graciela Camaño provides for the creation of a maritime protected area in the area known as Agujero Azul (Blue Hole), where the remains of the sunken submarine were found. It is an area of about 164,000 square kilometers, adjacent to the Exclusive Economic Zone.

The initiative is supported by the ruling Frente de Todos (FdT).

“This time it was necessary to approve an opinion on a draft Blue Hole Law, to protect not only the natural resources of our seabed but also the area where” the submarine and its 44 crew members were found.

It was precisely “the sovereign resources that the ARA San Juan was guarding,” Carreras said. “That is Juntos por el Cambio: the negative vote,” she added.

The families issued a statement in which they considered it inadmissible to leave unprotected “not only the sovereign resources but also the evidence for” a potential future investigation.

Macri is also being sued for illegally spying on people during his tenure, including some relatives of the San Juan crew so that the Government could prepare to face criticism while the submarine had not yet been found.

Lawyer Luis Tagliapietra, the father of one of the dead crew members, considers that Macri should be treated as the “organizer and director of an illicit association”.