Presidential pilots say they flew suitcases to Santa Cruz during Kirchner years

Sergio Velázquez and José Videla, two pilots who worked on presidential aircraft during the governments of Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007) and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2007-2015), have confirmed that they flew suitcases south, mainly to Santa Cruz, often "without passengers."

The statements were made in the context of the so-called ‘Cuadernos’ corruption notebooks trial in the TOF7 (Tribunal Oral Federal) courtroom, where both witnesses ratified previous testimony confirming the transfer of padlocked luggage loaded by the private secretaries who worked for the ex-presidents.

Velázquez, a former Tango 01 pilot, maintained that the suitcases were directly loaded into the aircraft from the military platform at Aeroparque airport without passing through the scanners or the usual Customs controls.

He further testified that most of the baggage had a fixed destination, since the cargoes were mainly transferred in official flights to the province of Santa Cruz.

Videla, a pilot who flew Tango 10, added fundamental information about the Daniel Muñoz, Néstor Kirchner’s late private secretary, confirming that he flew south completely alone in the aircraft and even on one occasion with a suitcase he kept close to him, refusing to check it in and "not letting anybody touch it " during the entire flight.

Afterwards, he maintained that upon landing in Río Gallegos in Argentina’s south, Muñoz did not disembark at the airport terminal but at an extreme end of the landing-strip where he made a direct withdrawal with two or three cars.

He also ratified that the presidential air fleet was further used to send newspapers and magazines which the Kirchner couple wished to read while spending weekends in El Calafate and Río Gallegos, an allegation that previously reached the court.

Finally, he detailed that the aircraft often took off at 6am to deliver to Cristina and Néstor envelope containing a summary of the day’s news coverage.

In conclusion, he indicated that the operational orders for these transfers arrived by fax, signed by then-presidential chief-of-staff Oscar Parrilli. At the close of his testimony, he estimated the cost of each hour of flight at around US$2,500 to US$3,000.

– TIMES/NA

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