Sensitive issue

Prosecutor Alberto Nisman’s accusation that President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was part of a plot that sought to cover up the truth over the 1994 AMIA Jewish community centre bombing can easily be read as the latest consequence of the reshuffle in the Intelligence Secretariat (SI, formerly known as SIDE) last month.

It is likely for the AMIA case to have led to the SI shake-up in the first place, sources from the Kirchnerite administration told the Herald.

In December, Fernández de Kirchner removed Héctor Icazuriaga and Francisco “Paco” Larcher from the SI leadership. Icazuriaga reportedly remained loyal to the president while Larcher was reportedly working to support Renewal Front leader Sergio Massa’s interests.

The move against the president and Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman came as part of an investigation into a sensitive issue for the Kirchnerite administration, which has made of the slogan “Memory, Truth and Justice” one of its most important banners.

But the real problem behind the scenes was spy Jaime Stiusso, who started his career at the Intelligence Secretariat during the 1970s and who saw his power increase in the following years. He was the guardian of all the secrets Argentine leaders wanted to hide.

The Intelligence connection