MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

ARA San Juan probe virtually halted

There is no will to advance in the investigation, said Tagliapietra

Argentine Lawyer Luis Tagliapietra, whose son Alejandro was one of the 44 crew members of the ARA San Juan (S-42) submarine that went down on Nov. 15, 2017, in the Atlantic Ocean, said Wednesday that he hoped there was “a change of attitude because we need to know the truth” as to the causes of the wreckage.

 Tagliapietra, who has since the tragedy offered his legal services to the families of the other 43 victims, admitted that “people who recognize me in the street stop to hug me and wish me strength” but “every day for the last six years has been a day of sadness and also of struggle to know what happened because at this point we still have not been able to elucidate that, let alone talk about justice.”

“The investigation is virtually paralyzed,” Tagliapietra said. “Our children remained in everyone's heart and that is the most valuable thing,” he added.

“We put forward a judicial work plan, with experts and institutions in Europe that are willing to collaborate, and, to date, there is not even an expert appointed. A lot of time was lost in trivial matters, which we have also denounced,” he also pointed out during a broadcast interview.

“We speculated that, with the change of political leadership, the investigation would move forward, but this was not the case,” he also lamented.

“Everything got even more blocked with this government. The pandemic meant a halt in the country, it is true, but nothing happened afterward either,” he noted.

“I understand that there is no will to advance in the investigation, perhaps because of the responsibility of very powerful politicians or because of more serious issues,” he argued.

Tagliapietra also admitted that there was little hope left but insisted he would “fight to the last consequences.”

“We are open to dialogue with any government. Hopefully, there will be a change of attitude because we need to know the truth, to know what happened,” he went on.

The remains of the submarine were located on Nov. 17, 2018, some 800 meters down in the South Atlantic by the vessel “Seabed Constructor” of the US company Ocean Infinity.