Cruz Introduces Bill to Hold Argentinian Officials Accountable for Corruption
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced the Corruption in Argentina Stymied by Enforcing Sanctions Act of 2023, or CASES Act. The bill requires the President to investigate five Argentinian officials for corruption, including Argentina’s Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. If the President finds that they meet the criteria for corruption sanctions, the bill mandates the imposition of those sanctions. Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.), Chair of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC), will lead the legislation in the House.
The Argentinian officials are: Fernández de Kirchner, her son Máximo Kirchner, Vice Minister of Justice Juan Martín Mena, Senator Oscar Isidro Jose Parrilli, and Lead Prosecutor of the Argentine Treasury Carlos Alberto Zannini. In December of 2022, Fernández de Kirchner was convicted by an Argentinian federal court of having overseen, with the help of her son, daughter, and associates, an elaborate bribery and kickback scheme that defrauded the people of Argentina of billions of pesos.
About the legislation, Sen. Cruz said:
“Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is a deeply corrupt politician who has undermined Argentina’s rule of law and its political institutions. The evidence against her is public, credible, and backed up by Argentina’s courts. Beyond Argentina, she and her associates have undermined American security interests in the region by placing Argentina’s institutions at the service of Iran’s global terrorism campaign. They continue to do so. The United States Congress has passed into law authorities for the President to sanction individuals like Fernández de Kirchner and her associates. My CASES Act mandates that President Biden uses them for what they were meant for – protecting American interests abroad from corrupt politicians seeking to undermine them.”
About the legislation, Chairwoman Salazar said:
“Cristina Fernández and her inner circle are some of Latin America’s most prolific embezzlers of public funds. It is time the United States take action against their unchecked abuse of power, which has resulted in theft and loss of billions of dollars belonging to the Argentinian people.”
Last year, Sen. Cruz led a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling for the State Department to impose corruption sanctions on Fernández de Kirchner and her immediate family members. Read the letter here.
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