Argentine authorities and victims’ relatives have remembered on Tuesday the 44 crew members of the submarine ‘ARA San Juan’ who died when the vessel sank exactly five years ago, under the doubts that still persist about the circumstances of one of the most serious tragedies in the military history of the South American country.
The submarine sank off Patagonia on November 15, 2017 and was not found until a year later: more than 900 meters deep, with a completely deformed hull and no hope of being refloated. A court-martial purged responsibilities within the Navy, with punishments on five officers, and several court cases are still open.
Among them, there is a pending trial for the alleged spying by the intelligence services on the relatives of the victims, who were particularly combative towards the then government, led by Mauricio Macri, reproaching it for its alleged lack of commitment to the search for the submarine and accountability.
The current president, Alberto Fernández, Macri’s political rival, has stressed his «eternal gratitude» to the crew members, «for their bravery and commitment to the homeland.» «We do not forget and we will not rest until the truth is known and justice is done,» the president has promised on his Twitter account.
The Minister of Defense, Jorge Taiana, will participate in the official act of homage, although the families of the crew members have wanted to make a first act this Tuesday morning at the Mar del Plata Naval Base, in front of the memorial that shows the names of the 44 deceased.
The authorities have even paid for the tickets so that some of these relatives could travel to this tribute, although the demands are still others. «Rather than spending money to bring us here to pat us on the back, it would be better to spend that money to pay for a good expert to find out once and for all what happened to the submarine and to judge the guilty parties», claimed the father of one of the officers in declarations to the newspaper ‘La Nación’.
