Kirchner Strongly Criticizes US

Buenos Aires
Dec 18

Argentine ex President Nestor Kirchner accused the United States on Tuesday of acting shamefully towards his country.

In his speech at a mass gathering today, Kirchner directly addressed US Ambassador Earl Anthony Wayne, warning him that Argentina is no longer a colony and deserves respect, and urging the United States to rather devote itself to clear up its concealment of torture in its military base in Guantanamo.

"We, Argentineans, are being groped by a mafia gang," said the former president in reference to a Miami-planned operation involving Venezuelan-US businessman Guido Antonioni Wilson, who was seized a briefcase with $800,000 by Argentinean authorities.

Kirchner demanded the extradition of this man, whom he described as a fugitive wanted by Argentinean justice, who is currently an FBI-protected witness.

Send the fugitive, extradite Antonioni Wilson, because we, the Argentineans, want to know all the truth, he demanded.

Kirchner rejected recent remarks made by Wayne, who, in an attempt to ease tension, said that relations between the United States and Argentina are good, while noting that with these things they are doing around this case, relations cannot be described as such.

Regarding motivations of this behaviour from Washington, the former president said that it seems "they are concerned about an increasing consolidation of the model in Argentina, they are worried about the emergence of Bank of the South, the strengthening of MERCOSUR and the unity of peoples in Latin America."