The confirmation of the conviction by the Court could lead to his arrest in the coming days
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The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation upheld the four-year prison sentence imposed on the former Kirchnerist Minister of Federal Planning, Julio De Vido, for his responsibility in the Once tragedy, which occurred in February 2012 and resulted in the deaths of 52 people.
With this decision, the sentence is ready to be enforced, which opens the possibility that the former official may be detained, since he has never been imprisoned for this case so far.
In Tuesday's plenary session, judges Horacio Rosatti, Carlos Rosenkrantz, and Ricardo Lorenzetti decided to reject as inadmissible both the appeals filed by the defense, which sought De Vido's acquittal, and those of the Prosecutor's Office, which sought to increase the sentence. This way, the ruling was confirmed and is now ready to be enforced.
The Once tragedy, which occurred in the Argentine railway system in 2012, became an emblematic case for the national justice system due to the severity of its consequences and the involvement of high-ranking officials. The decision of the highest court constitutes a final step in the lengthy judicial process initiated after the accident, as it confirms De Vido's criminal responsibility for fraudulent administration.
Cristina Kirchner y Julio De Vido.
Until now, Julio De Vido had not been deprived of his freedom in this case. Therefore, the confirmation of the sentence by the Court could lead to his detention in the coming days, a decision that must be made by Federal Oral Court No. 4, which is in charge of the trial. Nevertheless, the former minister could be granted the benefit of house arrest due to his age, since he is 75 years old.
Julio De Vido's Petition
Last month, the Federal Chamber of Criminal Cassation rejected a petition filed by the former Kirchnerist Minister of Planning Julio De Vido, with which he sought to have the case for the Once tragedy declared time-barred, in which he was sentenced to four years in prison for fraudulent administration for failing to control the use of public funds, and acquitted of the crime of negligent disaster, related to the 52 deaths and the hundreds of injuries resulting from the incident.
The Federal Oral Criminal Court No. 4, which handed down the sentence against De Vido, had already rejected the same petition last June. The former official argued that the deadline for the sentence to become final had expired, but his claim was again appealed to the Supreme Court, which on Tuesday decided to dismiss the appeal.
Cristina Kirchner y Julio De Vido.
The Once tragedy, which occurred on February 22, 2012, involved a train on the Sarmiento line and resulted in 52 fatalities and 789 injuries. This accident became one of the most painful episodes in recent Argentine history, giving rise to multiple judicial investigations that reached high-ranking officials of the Kirchnerist government.
The sentence handed down by TOF No. 4 against De Vido correplied to the second trial for the tragedy, after it was proven that he failed in his duty to oversee the use of public funds allocated to Trenes de Buenos Aires (TBA), the company that held the service concession.
The first trial, concluded in December 2015, ended with the conviction of the train driver, the owners and former executives of TBA, as well as former Secretaries of Transportation Ricardo Jaime and Juan Pablo Schiavi, who were also found responsible for their role in the administration of the railway system.
