Overview
- The Ministerio Público Fiscal asked on Tuesday for prison terms of up to five years, plus perpetual special disqualification and legal costs, for four retired naval officers charged over the ARA San Juan loss.
- Querellas representing 34 families demanded five years of effective prison for each accused, 10-year bans from public office and reparations for moral and material damage.
- Court testimony and forensic reconstructions say seawater entered battery tank No. 3 between the night of November 14 and the morning of November 15, 2017, causing a short circuit, a fire and then loss of control that ended in the submarine’s implosion.
- The prosecution individually blames Claudio Villamide for permitting the final mission despite overdue maintenance and a captain’s request for dry-dock; Luis Enrique López Mazzeo for failing to supervise alistamiento; Héctor Alonso for signing the operations order; and Hugo Correa for deficient communications handling.
- Defenses must still deliver their closing pleas and a verdict is expected within weeks in Río Gallegos, a decision that could set a precedent for military accountability and determine reparations for victims’ families.