MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Man who threw bottle at Milei jailed for 3 and a half years

The offender had a previous history of violence and was under the influence of alcohol during the attack

A Buenos Aires court Monday validated a plea agreement with the prosecution whereby the man who threw a bottle at President Javier Milei's motorcade on inauguration day has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison. In the incident, the perpetrator nearly missed the head of state's head and hit a security guard instead.

The 51-year-old Gastón Ariel Mercanzini will spend at least 2 years and 4 months in jail before being eligible for parole because, in addition to his 1.5-year sentence for the attack against the Libertarian leader, he had also been sentenced to two years for gender violence but was out on probation. Judge María Eugenia Capuchetti validated the understanding between Mercanzini and Prosecutor Carlos Rívolo whereby the probationary measure was also revoked.

The defendant was also ordered to undergo rehabilitation and detoxification treatments until his recovery. He “understands and expressly recognizes the existence of the facts in the trial and the responsibility attributed to him,” the sentence read.

After the Dec. 10 attack, Mercanzini was not immediately arrested, thus triggering a police search operation. “I will not go to jail and if I go with my head held high, I dared to do what many could not,” he wrote back then. The next day, he turned himself in at a TV station claiming he was unemployed and had addiction issues. He also said he was drunk during the attack and admitted he lived on the street. “That week, from December 3 to 10, I got drunk three times. The day of the episode I was drunk. I don't know what crossed my mind. I was hurt to hear that for the President-elect the convertibility plan was good. I was very affected by that...,” he said.

“I want to apologize to the President and his sister. I did not mean to hurt anyone, I had no intention of doing so,” he insisted. He is currently housed in the Marcos Paz prison. The Dec. 10 incident was caught on video, showing the bottle narrowly missing President Milei’s head while injuring a police officer.