In a surprise move Argentine President Cristina Fernández replaced the
top heads of the armed forces and appointed Brigadier General Luis María
Carena as the new head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The changes
announced on Wednesday come just a few weeks after former lawmaker
Augstín Rossi was named new Defence minister.
Carena replaces Jorge Alberto Chevalier, and Division General César
Milani will assume as Army Chief of Staff instead of Lieutenant General
Luis Alberto Pozzi.
Rear Admiral Gastón Fernando Erice will replace Admiral Daniel
Alberto Enrique Martín as the new navy’s Chief of Staff while Mayor
Brigadier Mario Miguel Callejo takes command of the Air Force.
The changes don’t come as a surprise because the president had them
in mind before removing Arturo Puricelli and sending him to Internal
Security. Besides it was a tough twelve months with the injunction of
the ARA Libertad in Ghana; the poor performance of the Navy and the
total failure of this year’s Antarctic campaign, among other issues.
President Cristina Fernandez and the new Minister of Defence Rossi
thanked the leaving generals in an official document, where they
expressed their gratitude “to those who accomplished in this time such
important responsibilities, putting all their energy, their intelligence
and capability to the service of the Homeland”.
The document included a special mention for Brigadier General
Chevalier “who accompanied us during the last decade, and was part of
the first changes impulsed by Néstor Kirchner when he just took office”.
However, this sudden change might be connected not only to Rossi’s
new position but with Nilda Garré, former Security minister, who left
office a month ago.
Earlier today, the Kirchnerite officials tried to approve without
success, Congress authorization for Garre’s designation as the new
ambassador in the Organization of Americans States (OAS).
Opposition
Senators managed to block a vote demanding some aspects of her assets
statements were ‘not clear’.
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