Several senior officers of the navy, including the admiral who commanded the Argentine fleet, were sanctioned Monday, March 22 by military justice four years after the disappearance of the submarine the ARA San Juan and the death of its 44 members of crews that had moved the country.
These are the first sanctions pronounced within the framework of the disciplinary investigation launched by the armed forces.
A criminal investigation is underway in the civil courts.
Retired Admiral Marcelo Srur was punished with "
45 days in detention
" for "
not fully informing the Defense Ministry of the first events, thus preventing it from providing information to the families of the crew members
" , according to a statement from the court martial, made up of commanders of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a senior ministry official.
A month after the submersible disappeared, on November 15, 2017 while it was sailing towards its base, the port of Mar del Plata (east), Admiral Srur had been removed from his responsibilities.
A former commander of the submarine force, Claudio Villamide, who was found responsible, among other things, for "
lack of care or neglect with regard to the troops and the material in his charge
", for his part been fired.
Two active captains were punished with 20 and 30 days of detention and a former head of a naval base in the south of the country to 15 days in prison.
A former head of maintenance and a former head of operations were acquitted.
Luis Tagliapietra, father of one of the crew members of the ARA San Juan and civil party in the criminal section, considered that the court martial "
was not up to par
."
But he considers "
important
" that the military justice recognized responsibilities because they "
will be joined
" to the civil procedure.
An Argentinian court demanded in November the opening of a new investigation to study the possible criminal liability of Mauricio Macri.
This former president (2015-2019) and his Minister of Defense Oscar Aguad were exonerated by a judge of first instance.
Families of the missing sailors appealed for the investigation to be relaunched.
Made in Germany in 1983 and incorporated into the Argentine Navy in 1985, the San Juan was located a year after its disappearance in the South Atlantic, 900 meters deep.
According to the navy, the ship imploded due to technical failures.
It could never be refloated despite the wishes of the families.
