Third Suspect Arrested In Argentina VP Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's Assassination Attempt

A third suspect has been arrested in connection with the assassination attempt on Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner on Sept. 1. Agustina Diaz, was linked by investigators to Brazilian citizen Fernando Andres Sabag Montiel, the primary suspect in the shooting of the Vice President. Authorities identified Diaz as a close friend of Montiel’s Argentine girlfriend, 23-year-old Brenda Uliarte.

According to the AP News, Diaz was detained on Monday in Buenos Aires but no further information on her was released while the investigation is underway. Uliarte reportedly was at the scene together with Montiel and was arrested a few hours later after the attempt. Diaz was arrested after forensic evidence from Uliarte’s phone directed investigators to Diaz based on messages that revealed communications between them regarding the attack. With other mobile phones seized by police on Tuesday following three raids in Buenos Aires, it would seem that the assassination attempt involved a network of people.

Diaz allegedly helped Uliarte escape the scene after Montiel’s gun failed to fire at the Argentine VP as it was aimed at her head. As the gun’s trigger jammed, botching the attempt, the VP was captured on TV covering her face and crouching down. Video footage gathered by investigators from Montiel’s cellphone showed he had been practicing with the exact Bersa handgun he used in the attack while Uliarte’s phone reportedly had evidence indicating possible previous attempts on Fernandez de Kirchner. Argentine President Albert Fernandez noted that messages found on the seized cellphones also pointed to assassination plots against him.

“The conversations of the accused are becoming known and they said that I would be next,” he said.

Investigators are still in the grey as to the motive of Montiel and how his gun failed to load and fire also remains a mystery. Based on gathered evidence, it would seem the suspects have been in communication for a month discussing the attack.

Meanwhile, since the failed assassination plot, Security Minister Anibal Fernandez said they have beefed up security detail around the VP following a death threat that was coursed through the emergency services line. Fernandez de Kirchner is said to be well-loved by her supporters who also follow the Peronist legacy.