Former Secretary General of the Presidency of the Government of Cambiemos Fernando de Andreis declares this Thursday as a witness, by videoconference, in the case investigating the sinking of the ARA San Juan submarine, which occurred on November 17, 2017, judicial sources reported.
The former official was summoned by the federal judge of Caleta Olivia Marta Yáñez in the passage of the case in which the eventual criminal responsibility in the sinking of the former president Mauricio Macri, of the former Minister of Defense Oscar Aguad and the former head of the Navy Marcelo Srur.
By Andreis was summoned to appear in person at the federal court of Caleta Olivia, in Santa Cruz, but in the morning he requested that he be authorized to testify in a virtual hearingto which the judge agreed “in order not to further delay the measure ordered,” according to the resolution to which Télam had access.
The witness had requested to be able to testify from the city of Buenos Aires “based on the current functions that I perform at Empresa de Consultoría, President of the CEPLA Foundation and the distance between the seat of the Court and my place of residence that make it difficult for me to travel this time”.
The lawsuit filed by relatives of crew members of the submarine ARA San Juan, headed by the lawyer Valeria Carreras, reported that they will not oppose the judge’s decision to accompany the criterion of do not prolong the processbut stressed that the statement of the witnesses shows “in tune” with the accused.
“It is also known, as Dr. Javier Leal de Ibarra (federal steward of Comodoro Rivadavia) has written, that attendance must prevail in the processes, in education and in life itself“, they maintained from that lawsuit, while emphasizing that “it is also known that witnesses via Zoom can be ‘guided’ in some way“.
The same request to testify as a witness of virtual mode was granted to the former Secretary of Legal and Technical of the Presidency Paul Clausellaswhich is called for March 21 and currently works in the General Auditor of the city of Buenos Aires, as reported to the court.
For this batch of testimonials, the former head of advisers to the management of Cambiemos José María Torellowho will answer writtena possibility that was enabled for him because he works as a senator.
The judge will try to reconstruct from the testimony of the former officials how and when did Macri find out about the sinking of the submarine, what information did he receive and what decisions were made in relation to that information.
This cause had gained new momentum in November 2020 when the Federal Chamber of Comodoro Rivadavia ordered determine the eventual criminal responsibility of Macri, Aguad and Srur in the sinking of the submarine ARA San Juan and confirmed most of the prosecutions ordered until then by the judge on high command of the Navy.
Among the confirmed prosecutions are those of former submarine force commander Claudio Villamilde; the former commander of naval training and enlistment Luis Enrique Lopez Mazzeo; the former Chief of Staff of the Submarine Force Command Hector Alonso and the former head of operations department Hugo Miguel Correa.
The former commanders of the Navy are prosecuted for the crimes of non-compliance with the duties of a public official, omission of the duties of the office and criminal damage aggravated by the result of death in ideal competition, due to the sinking of the ARA San Juan, whose last contact occurred on November 15, 2017.
52 months after the last communication we continue to remember and honor our 44 beloved sailors of the #ARASanJuan ??⚓️#we do not forget #44presents? pic.twitter.com/KqxQ679OzS
– Los 44 Del Ara San Juan (@Los44AraSJ) March 15, 2022
