A Hercules C-130 aircraft of the Argentine Air Force was in charge of illegally transporting war material to Bolivia. | Photo: Telam

Buenos Aires, July 10 (RHC)-- The Prosecutorial Unit specialized in the investigation of crimes related to firearms, explosives and other controlled materials (Ufiarm) of Argentina, announced Friday in a statement the start of an investigation into the shipment of war material from that country to Bolivia during the coup of 2019.

"In attention to the serious events that have transcended publicly between Thursday and Friday, about the bringing to the attention of the Argentine government by the authorities of the Plurinational State of Bolivia regarding the alleged delivery to that country of war material of chemical agents," we have decided to initiate the investigation, the Prosecutor's Office indicated in the document.

The Argentinean federal justice system indicates that "a series of evidentiary measures were ordered, among them, the request of information to the Presidency of the Nation, to different ministries of the Nation and to the National Gendarmerie, with the purpose of beginning to collect elements that allow to elucidate such episodes as soon as possible and to determine, in its case, its possible authors or participants."

For his part, the Minister of Defense, Agustín Rossi, informed local media that "it was confirmed that the Hercules C-130 aircraft belonging to the Air Force, in which the war material was transported, had left from El Palomar."   At the same time, Rossi specified that "the war material that arrived in Bolivia has no legal support."

Rossi added that "no war material can leave Argentina without the authorization of the Department of Defense" and that the plane "had the purpose of transporting gendarmes and cargo that were going to strengthen the custody of the Argentine embassy in Bolivia."

The plane "was carrying an unidentified cargo which is not yet known what it was, but they knew they were doing something totally illegal because otherwise they would have detailed it", added the Minister of Defense.

Regarding the unleashed events, Bolivian President Luis Arce said on Friday that: "We regret that a right-wing president of Argentina has been promoting a coup d'état in our country".

Meanwhile, his Argentinean counterpart, Alberto Fernández, while participating in Tucumán in the central act for the Independence Day, again apologized to the Bolivian people on behalf of his State.

"My model is not in those who send rubber bullets to Bolivia. My model is still (José) de San Martín, (Martín Miguel de) Güemes, and (Manuel) Belgrano", he said in his message from the Historic House of Tucumán.