Argentine lawmaker fights for life after shooting [View all]

[sandensea]

An Argentine lawmaker has been seriously injured and another man has been killed after being shot in a brazen attack near the congressional building in the country's capital, authorities said Thursday.

Congressman Héctor Olivares, 61, was shot at around 7 a.m. local time. Olivares, who represents La Rioja Province, is being treated at a hospital in Buenos Aires and is in critical condition.

The man killed was identified as Miguel Yadón, 58, a federal electricity agency official for La Rioja. Yadón, an adviser to Olivares and friends since their teenage years, was shot at least six times.

A video of the shooting released by the security minister showed that a parked car was waiting for Yadón and Olivares. The assailants appeared noticeably unhurried and took no precautions against being identified; one exited the car and left on foot.

Olivares belongs to the centrist UCR - junior members of President Mauricio Macri's right-wing "Let's Change" coalition. Before he was shot, he had been discussing a bill against hooliganism in Argentine soccer, which produces some of the best players in the world - but is plagued by entrenched corruption and violence.

Macri, a former head of the Boca Juniors football club (one of the country's most important), has long been dogged by allegations of ties to soccer gangs - known locally as barras bravas.

Federal Prosecutor Carlos Stornelli and Boca Juniors head Daniel Angelici - both longtime Macri confidants - are known to be close to Rafael di Zeo, a top soccer hooligan gang leader. Stornelli was recently charged in the "Extortiongate" scandal involving Argentine intelligence attempts to extract false testimony against opponents, as well as payoffs.

Attacks on politicians are unusual in Argentina, a country of 44 million people, where the news usually centers on an ongoing economic crisis since Macri's carry-trade debt bubble imploded a year ago.

At: https://www.yahoo.com/news/argentina-lawmaker-shot-injured-apparent-attack-132704587.html



Argentine Congressman Héctor Olivares, who remains in critical condition after being shot from a parked vehicle.

The day before, Olivares has sponsored a bill against hooliganism in Argentine soccer - whose ties include those to President Mauricio Macri, a longtime principal in the Boca Juniors football club.