Argentina gang arrested after Congress attack; wounded lawmaker condition critical
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine authorities have arrested members of mafia-style gang after a rare gun attack outside Congress in Buenos Aires killed one official and left a senior lawmaker fighting for his life.
Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said on Friday that all members of the gang had been detained, including one who had fled across the border to Uruguay.
On Thursday morning, two attackers had shot Congressman Hector Olivares and a government official, Miguel Yadon, who died at the scene.
Juan Pablo Rossini, deputy director of the Hospital Ramos Mejía, told reporters on Friday Olivares was in critical condition, needing life-support systems and dialysis due to kidney damage. His life was still at risk, he said.
The attack rattled Buenos Aires, sparking anxiety about possible political motivations. Local officials and media, however, suggested the issue was more personal and that the gang had targeted Yadon specifically.
Surveillance video appeared to show Yadon and Olivares falling to the ground after being shot. In the video, two people emerge from a nearby parked car and stay for a few moments at the scene before driving away.
Bullrich said in comments on Twitter that one suspect thought to be one of the authors of the attack had been arrested trying to escape the country, while another had been caught with the help of Interpol in Uruguay.
The gang “has been detained, including the second one in the car, one of the two murders of Yadon and the one who seriously wounded deputy Olivares,” she wrote.
Bullrich has said previously that the shooting was premeditated but that the motive, and whether it was political or personal, was still unknown and being investigated.
Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Alistair Bell and Bill Trott
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