BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentina’s Congress lashed out at the United States on Wednesday over an alleged coverup involving a cash- stuffed suitcase that U.S. prosecutors say was bound for the president’s winning campaign.
U.S. prosecutors say a Venezuelan-American man who brought $800,000 to Argentina for Christina Fernandez’s campaign was offered $2 million by Venezuelan agents to keep quiet and help cover up the source of the money.
Fernandez describes herself as the victim of “dirty operations and dirty politics.” But the U.S. insists its prosecutors act independently and have pursued the case without influence from the White House.
The Argentine Congress, controlled by Fernandez’s left- leaning ruling coalition, passed a resolution Wednesday repudiating the U.S. government over the investigation, which led to the arrests of four men last week in Miami. They have been charged with acting as agents of Venezuela’s government and failing to register in the U.S. as such.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has dismissed as “big lies” the allegations by U.S. prosecutors that his government had tried to cover up the attempted cash delivery to Fernandez’s campaign.
