Former CIA agent says assassination attempt on Cristina Kirchner ‘was a set-up’

Former CIA agent Guillermo Cueto described the alleged assassination attempt against former Argentinian President and current Vice President Cristina Kirchner last Thursday as "a set-up," reported El Perfil.

Last week, Kirchner was allegedly attacked by Fernando Sabag Montiel, who pointed a Bersa 22 caliber pistol at her head when she was returning to her home. However, the gun did not fire, leaving the former president unharmed.

“I believe he was not there to carry out a murder but to give the appearance of a murder," said Cueto. "I would rule out the possibility that the bullet missed. What failed is that Sabag did not load the gun."

The former agent referred to the pistol used as evidence and explained that "it has a 99.9997% failure rate." 

Cueto also addressed the “political movement involving people of great power who planned this, who immediately planned the reaction after the act."

After the assassination attempt on Friday, many protests took place throughout the country. 

"The fact that national demonstrations were called in all cities by President Alberto Fernandez seems to me that it was a planned reaction," he said. "This cannot be planned from one day to the next with a turnout and the citizen participation that took place at the national level."

The alleged attack against Kirchner took place amid political tension between the government and the opposition, which has grown since a prosecutor requested a 12-year prison sentence for the vice-president and disqualification from holding public office over corruption in public works. 

On Tuesday, the Argentine courts revealed new images of Sabag Montiel and his girlfriend, Brenda Uliarte, posing with the weapon used in the alleged attack on Kirchner, local media reported. 

The photos were recovered from the cell phone of alleged assailant Sabag Montiel, 35, reported Infobae.

The new evidence implicates Sabag Montiel’s girlfriend, Brenda Uliarte, 23, who was arrested on Sunday as a suspected accomplice in the alleged attack against the vice-president. 

The images show Sabag Montiel taking a selfie with his finger on the trigger of the Bersa pistol and his girlfriend in another image with the gun in her waistband, under her pants.