Kirchner's ex-secretary's death sparks political clash

Fernández reacts to criticism after the alleged murder of the former secretary of Cristina Kirchner 2:32

(CNN Spanish) - The death in Argentina of Fabián Gutiérrez, former secretary of Vice President Cristina Kirchner, triggered a confrontation between the government of Alberto Fernández and sectors of the opposition.

Gutiérrez's body, whose death was classified as "homicide" by the judge handling his case, was found on Saturday (July 4) in a home in El Calafate, Santa Cruz province. The former official had been missing since Thursday night.

Judge Carlos Narvarte, in charge of the investigation of the Gutiérrez case, ruled out that at the moment there are indications that it was a politically motivated attack.

"Everything indicates that it could have been a disagreement, then a fight, or a motive for the robbery," the magistrate told Radio Miter.

When asked about a possible political motive, he replied: "In principle, this issue is not observed in this case."

The political space Together for Change, akin to the group identified with former President Mauricio Macri, published a statement on Saturday in which he referred to what he called “the kidnapping, disappearance and murder of Fabián Gutiérrez,” adding that it was about "A crime of the greatest institutional gravity".

"We ask that, due to the possible connection of his death with federal crimes, the investigation be transferred to the orbit of federal Justice. And that there are no relatives of Vice President Cristina Kirchner in the process. The provincial Justice is already trying to install, without any evidence, hypotheses about the motive for the murder, "the opposition leaders highlighted in their text.

President Fernández told Milenium radio this Sunday that "it is rogue" and "miserable" to sow "doubts" about the death of the vice-president's former collaborator.

"We all want to know what happened to Fabián Gutiérrez, who killed him, what the motives are, but to insinuate that this happened for reasons of the cause known as the cause of the notebooks and that the government may be involved is really such an attitude miserable that is very difficult to understand, ”said the president.

"Think for a second who can win with this death. I ask people to reflect for a moment because they try to permanently confuse them. Let's not get carried away by the haters of always, that is not the way to go, "added Alberto Fernández.

Other members of his government also criticized the statements of some opposition figures on social networks.

Gutiérrez was Fernández de Kirchner's private secretary during her husband's presidency, and left office in 2005. He returned to serve between 2007 and 2010, during the former president's first term. He was prosecuted for the case of the so-called "corruption notebooks", and had declared as repentant in 2018, as recorded in the judicial file.

In his statement as an accused collaborator in the cause of the “corruption notebooks”, Gutiérrez had indicated that during his years as Fernández de Kirchner's private secretary he witnessed how then-President Néstor Kirchner received bags and backpacks from two of his officials and that These were transferred by former Secretary Daniel Muñoz to the couple's homes in Santa Cruz. According to the minutes of his statement, he clarified that he never saw the content of said shipments.

One of the points of conflict in the case is that the prosecutor who intervenes in the file is Romina Mercado, niece of the vice president.

"We believe that who is the daughter of (the governor and sister-in-law of Fernández de Kirchner) Alicia Kirchner cannot be a judge and a party," the president of the macrismo Republican Proposal (Pro) group, Patricia Bullrich, told CNN Radio.

From the same political space, the former president of the Pro caucus in the Chamber of Deputies, Nicolás Massot, said that "we must avoid engulfing justice."

He added that in the case of the murder of Fabián Gutiérrez "nothing can be affirmed or ruled out", but that "the judicial investigation must be given time".

Gutiérrez was wanted since Thursday night, after his mother reported that he could not find his son. After taking a statement from a young man allegedly known to the former secretary, investigators managed to find the body. He was buried at the bottom of a property in the Aeropuerto Viejo neighborhood of the tourist town El Calafate, with a blow to the head and wrapped in a sheet, according to judge Carlos Narvarte.

According to the Police, his death would have occurred at Gutiérrez's home in El Calafate, and then the body would have been transferred in the victim's vehicle to the property where he was buried and found. Later, the vehicle was returned to Gutiérrez's home.

"Because of the weight of the body and the place where it was buried, more than one person participated here," added Judge Narvarte, who assured on Saturday that "the case is a homicide and the motive is being investigated."

At least four young people were arrested for being allegedly involved in the act and, according to the magistrate, one of them had maintained a "closer" relationship.