Former Argentine President Arrested

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - Former Argentine president Carlos Menem was
arrested Wednesday as part of an investigation into illegal arms sales by
his government during the 1990s, local media reported.

Menem was ordered held by a federal judge leading a probe of illicit arms
trafficking to Croatia in 1991 and Ecuador in 1995. Judge Jorge Urso has
cited Menem in connection with his investigation into what he says was ``an
illicit organization'' that sought to sell weapons to the two countries
while sales were banned.

There was no official confirmation of the Thursday arrest, first reported by
local television network TodoNoticias and news agency Diarios y Noticias.
Hundreds of Menem supporters crowded outside a federal courthouse where
Menem arrived early Thursday to testify.

Menem is suspected by a federal judge of heading up an ``illegal group''
that organized the sale of 6,500 tons of weapons between 1991 and 1995. The
weapons were officially destined for Panama and Venezuela but ended up in
Croatia and Ecuador respectively.

During that period, Argentina was bound by international agreements that
enforced arms embargoes on Croatia and Ecuador. Ecuador and Peru waged a
brief border war in the 90s, and the embargo against Croatia stemmed from
fighting in the former Yugoslavia.

The sales, decreed by Menem while he was president and later signed off by
several of his closest advisers, were made at a time when sales to those
countries were banned.

If charged and convicted, Menem could face a prison sentence of three to 10
years.

Menem has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, saying the sales were done
``absolutely legally'' and claiming he was the victim a ``political
persecution.''

His arrest follows the arrest of his three former advisers, all of whom have
been called by Federal Judge Jorge Urso in recent weeks to give evidence in
the arms case.


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Miroslav Antic,
http://www.antic.org/

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