Assassinations in Argentina

Following the attacks of September 11^th, the United States took hours to officially identify the culprits. Similar determination has been shown with the ensuing terrorist attacks that have occurred in Madrid, London, Sydney and Paris over the past eleven years. The governments of these nations have been quick to identify, investigate, and determine the course of action needed to bring the perpetrators to justice. However, 21 year have passed since the 1994 terrorist attack on the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that claimed 85 lives; other than the speculations of Iranian involvement, little meaningful progress has been made in resolving this case.

In fact, this case has only become murkier over the past decade. In 2005, President Nestor Kirchner formally accepted Argentine responsibility for the failures to investigate the bombing, calling it a “national disgrace”. In order to correct this failure, President Kirchner appointed a prosecutor named Alberto Nisman to investigate the case. Five years later, while mounting a reelection bid, Nestor Kirchner died of heart failure while sleeping. Some speculated that foul play may have held a hand in his untimely death. There are some alarming facts revolving around his death. A lawsuit had been filed in 2013 against his wife Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and their son, Maximo, which accused them of his murder, reportedly due to possible evidence of a mysterious injection mark on his neck. Additionally, it is normal that autopsies be performed on ex-presidents in order to determine the cause of death; however, President Cristina Kirchner ordered the body of her husband be flown to southern Argentina for burial following the three-day mourning period. Lastly, following his death and quick burial, the political atmosphere in Argentina noticeably began to change. President Cristina Kirchner dismantled the alliance developed by her late husband with United States, shifting Argentine cooperation to Russia, China, Venezuela, and most alarmingly – Iran – still the main suspect in the 1994 terror attacks in Buenos Aires. All these facts have held little strength, until recently.

For the past ten years, Alberto Nisman, the individual appointed by President Nestor Kirchner, investigated the 1994 terrorist attack on the Jewish headquarters in Buenos Aires. His findings not only supported the notion that Iranian agents planned and executed the attack, but also highlighted the Argentine government’s direct involvement in helping cover up, and even pardon, the culprits in exchange for favorable oil for grain deals. On January 19^th, hours before presenting his finding to the Argentine congress, he was found dead of an apparent self inflicted gunshot wound in his upscale apartment in Puerto Madero. Not only did President Cristina Kirchner initially state that Nisman committed suicide, but even went as far to critique his work mere hours after his death. Media outlets, including the state run media and Presidency (following a reversal), are now reporting that this was not a suicide, rather an assassination.

Alberto Nisman had been in fear for his life for some time now, evident by warning his ex-wife, a Federal Judge in Argentina, and daughters that the following months would be difficult for the whole family. Nisman had even taken multiple protective measures for himself. The first action was to arrange a protective detail from the police force, containing ten officers, which mysteriously disappeared during the time of his death. State run media claims that Nisman dismissed the police that night; however, other media outlets are reporting that they were called off right before his death. Additionally, the weapon that took his life, a .22 caliber Bersa, was apparently a loaned gun from an associate that was dropped off hours before his death, even though Nisman owned two more powerful guns. It has been reported that this gun has left zero gunpowder residue on his hands. The final curious point is that Sergio Berni, the Argentine National Security Secretary and former military surgeon, was one of the first officials on the scene but waited an hour and a half until a judge arrived to check whether Nisman was in fact dead behind the locked bathroom door. Accompanying Berni was Nisman’s mother, who some alleged was used as a ploy to cover evidence and testify that everything in the apartment was in order. These are only a few of a long list of the very suspicious actions before and after the death of Alberto Nisman.

Setting aside the theory of suicide, two scenarios have risen in the media. The state run media is reporting that Nisman was murdered by anti-government organizations in order to weaken the credibility of the administration and bring more attention to his report. The more plausible and believed scenario is that either the Argentine or Iranian Governments directly assassinated him, or pressured him to commit suicide with threats to his loved ones, in order to keep him from testifying. This is yet another instance of shadowy involvement in Latin American politics. Alberto Nisman’s name should be added to the overall death toll of the 1994 terror attacks in Buenos Aires.

He is number 86.