The Defense Minister Jorge TaianaHe assured this Wednesday that “it is unacceptable that there have been excesses in a welcome reception” of Army Second Lieutenant Matías Ezequiel Chirino in the Corrientes town of Paso de los Libres, which ended with his death, and said that “the 11 officers who participated in the barbecue were suspended for allegedly very serious misconduct.”
“I am moved, it is horrible what has happened, we found out on Sunday, the complaint was launched before the court for the doubtful death of a young man, Matías (who) turned 22 on June 11. It is unacceptable that there have been excesses in a welcome reception for colleagues,” Taiana said in dialogue with Radio 10.
The young man, a native of the Cordovan city of Río Cuarto, passed away after having participated together with his companions and chiefs of the Artillery Group No. 3 of the Argentine Army in an initiation celebration in the military unit and prosecutor Mauro Casco reported on Tuesday that the autopsy determined that the death was caused by bronchial aspiration.
Chirino had to be transferred to the San José hospital in Paso de los Libres, where he later died.
The Minister of Defense reported that together with the administrative investigation of the military justice for which “the 11 officers who participated in the barbecue were suspended, due to allegedly serious misconduct, there is Justice, which has our full support.”
Regarding what happened, he maintained that “they were given a welcome barbecue, but there was an extraordinary consumption of alcohol and the information gives that (Matías) was not used to it, they went to sleep and the boy fell ill and died of bronchial aspiration.”
“There was a deformation in command, an abuse, that is what the father denounces, I spoke with him last night,” he added and affirmed that there must be “zero tolerance because there is responsibility and it was a reception that was completely out of control” .
Ezequiel Chirino, father of the 22-year-old, from the city of Río Cuarto in Córdoba, said yesterday that his son “was killed” and that it was an act of “abuse of authority” by officers of the Artillery Group No. 3 of the Army Argentine, based in the distant city 370 kilometers southeast of the city of Corrientes.
