The public trial for the Argentine government's clandestine sale of arms to Ecuador and Croatia [2] from 1991 to 1995 in violation of international agreements began in Buenos Aires on Oct. 16. There are 18 defendants; the best known, former president Carlos Menem (1989-1999), now a senator from La Rioja province, failed to attend, claiming health problems. Much of the evidence disappeared in the 1995 explosion of an arms factory; at least six potential witnesses had died by 1998, two in a helicopter crash, three from heart attacks and one in what was ruled a suicide. (La Jornada [3], Oct. 17)
From Weekly News Update on the Americas [4], Oct. 21
See our last post on Argentina [5].
