Ted Cruz introduces bill to sanction Argentine Vice President Cristina Kirchner for corruption

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz introduced a bill on Wednesday that would sanction several Argentine officials for corruption, including the vice-president of the Latin American country, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

The proposed Corruption in Argentina Stymied by Enforcing Sanctions Act of 2023 (CASES) would have President Joe Biden investigate five Argentine officials to determine whether or not they meet the criteria to be sanctioned for corruption.

The project is based on the conviction handed down last year by the South American country's federal court against the vice-president for having supervised, with the help of her children and associates, a bribery scheme to defraud Argentines.

The officials to be investigated are: Cristina Fernández, her son Máximo Kirchner, Deputy Minister of Justice Juan Martín Mena, Senator Oscar Isidro José Parrilli and the head prosecutor of the Argentine Treasury Carlos Alberto Zannini.

"Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is a deeply corrupt politician who has undermined Argentina’s rule of law and its political institutions. The evidence against her is public, credible, and backed up by Argentina’s courts (...) She and her associates have undermined American security interests in the region by placing Argentina’s institutions at the service of Iran’s global terrorism campaign. They continue to do so," Cruz said.

The presentation of the legislative proposal came on the same day that Joe Biden coordinated a meeting at the White House with the President of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, to discuss economic, human rights, climate change and other issues.

Argentina's vice president responds

Through social networks Cristina Fernandez responded to the Republican senator for the bill he presented, accusing him of wanting to outlaw her. "Just like I said: Banned!" she said, asserting that Cruz was the U.S. senator "who received the most from oil and gas companies in 2018."

"As if all this were not enough, five days before they tried to assassinate me, Senator Ted Cruz had called for sanctions against me (...) As you can see, everything fits together," she added.