Secretary of State Marco Rubio introduced that former Argentina President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and the rustic’s former minister are barred from visiting the U.S. because of their involvement in “significant corruption” whilst in public place of business.
Rubio mentioned Friday that Kirchner and previous Argentina Minister of Making plans Julio Miguel de Vido “abused their positions by orchestrating and financially benefitting from multiple bribery schemes involving public works contracts, resulting in millions of dollars stolen from the Argentine government.”
“Multiple courts have convicted [Kirchner] and De Vido for corruption, undermining the Argentine people’s and investors’ confidence in Argentina’s future,” the U.S.’s best diplomat mentioned in a observation.
With the designation, Kirchner, de Vido and their speedy members of the family shall be “generally ineligible for entry into the United States.”
Kirchner was once Argentina’s president from 2007-15, serving two consecutive phrases.
In December 2022, Kirchner, then serving because the South American nation’s vp, was once convicted and sentenced to 6 years in prison and banned for existence from preserving public place of business over a $1 billion fraud and corruption scheme.
A federal appeals court docket upheld her verdict in November closing 12 months. Kirchner has denied wrongdoing.
Whilst within the Senate, Rubio was once certainly one of 8 Republican senators who penned a February 2024 letter to former President Biden, alleging he was once misusing sanctions towards Latin American and Caribbean officers.
Rubio, then representing Florida, together with Republican Sens. James E. Risch (Idaho), Invoice Hagerty (Tenn.), James Lankford (Okla.), Mike Lee (Utah), Tim Scott (S.C.), John Cornyn (Texas), and Rick Scott (Fla.), informed Biden he “failed to publicly designate President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her family members following their convictions for fraudulent government contracts for public infrastructure.”
“The United States will continue to promote accountability for those who abuse public power for personal gain,” Rubio mentioned Friday. “These designations reaffirm our commitment to counter global corruption, including at the highest levels of government.”
