Argentina: Miami Vice

Sometime this week, a Miami court will begin sentencing the four men accused of acting illegally as agents of the Venezuelan government in attempting to pressure Venezuelan/US citizen Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson into concealing the origin and purpose of 800,000 dollars that Antonini attempted to smuggle into Argentina last August.

The US Attorney's office in Maimi claims the money came from the Venezuelan government and was destined for the campaign of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, elected Argentine president in October. Three of the four have pleaded guilty and will be sentenced, while the fourth, Franklin Duran, is expected to go to trial. On tapes in the possession of the FBI, Duran allegedly informed Antonini of the origin and purpose of the money, although, given that Antonini reportedly made a number of similar trips from Caracas to Buenos Aires last year, it is suspected that he was not unaware of this.

The case caused a sharp deterioration in Argentine-US relations when the allegations from the US Attorney's office were made public in December, and there will be concerns over further revelations during Duran's trial. With the dent that the current agricultural crisis has left on Fernandez de Kirchner's approval ratings, and recent claims that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been linked to the Colombian FARC rebels, new claims of unlawful Venezuelan backing for Fernandez de Kirchner may cause new headaches in Buenos Aires in particular.