An attempt was made on the life of Argentinian Vice-President and former President Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (CFK), outside her Buenos Aires home. The assailant, who was arrested on sight, is a 35-year-old Brazilian man.
Apprehension of the assailant was made by Fernández de Kirchner’s security guards after the would-be assassin pointed his weapon at the vice-president’s head, whereupon it jammed, or else he failed to pull the trigger. It has been reported that one hundred bullets have been found in his apartment.
The vice-president has been the object of repeated accusations of corruption; she has, for instance, been blamed for facilitating the issuance of construction contracts to a company run by a political ally during her tenure as head of state.
The attack has elicited condemnations against violence and expressions of sympathy across the country’s political spectrum. Exceptions, however, include a deputy from the Argentinian province of Santa Fe, who publicly accused the Vice-President of staging the attack in order to garner sympathy.
The assailant now awaits processing by the legal system.
