28 minutes agoI'm alive, thank God. Silver Vice President speaks after the gun attack on her.
Periskopi(4 years ago)
(4 years ago)Argentina Vice President Christina Fernández de Kirchner, who survived an assassination after an armed man's gun was blocked, said she was alive “because of God and the Virgin Mary”. In her first public comments since the September 1st attack on Buenos Aires, she also found that [...]
In her first public remarks since the September 1st attack on Buenos Aires, she also found that Pope Francescu called him the next day to comfort him.
Speaking at a meeting with priests and nuns Thursday, Mrs. Fernández de Kirchner, 69, said: “I felt I was alive because of God and the Virgin Mary, indeed. So I feel that if I had to thank God and Virgin, I would have to make it surrounded by priests”.
She also expressed gratitude to the Pope, an Argentinan colleague, who called him just hours after the failed attack.
Spapa Francescu called me very early tomorrow. We were talking on the phone and he told me something like this: that acts of hatred and violence are always preceded by words and verbs of hatred and violence”, she said.
The incident occurred as Mrs. Fernández de Kirchner greeted supporters outside her home.
A small crowd had gathered to show support for the vice president, who is currently on trial for corruption when a man pointed a gun to his head. The moment was caught in the video.
The gun did not fire, but Argentina's president, Alberto Fernández, later said it was filled with five bullets. “Cristina is still alive because, for some reasons that have not yet been confirmed, the weapon ... did not fire,” he said in a televised speech.
President Fernández described it as the worst “suspect since the return of democracy” in 1983.
Fernando Sabag Montiel, who was born in Brazil but has lived in Argentina since he was a child, was arrested at the scene just minutes after the incident. His girlfriend, Brenda Ulyrte, 23, was arrested a few days later. They are accused of attempted murder, but both deny any involvement.
Investigators are still trying to determine the motive of the attack on Mrs. Fernández de Kirchner, a left-wing politician who, although extremely popular with her supporters, has changed many in her years as one of Argentina's most influential politicians. Before becoming vice president in 2019, she served as president of Argentina from 2007 to 2015 and as the first lady from 2003 to 2007. / A2 CNN
