Trial starts over the 2022 assassination attempt of Argentina's Cristina Fernández de Kirchner

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Three suspects went on trial Wednesday before a federal court in Argentina for the assassination attempt two years ago of then-Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, one of the country's most powerful and divisive political figures in recent decades.

On that day, Sept. 1, 2022, Fernández stepped out of her car outside her apartment building and began shaking hands with a throng of well-wishers when Fernando Sabag Montiel, pushed forward with a gun, pointed it just inches from her face and pulled the trigger.

A click was heard but no shot was fired and experts later said there was no bullet in the chamber. Still, the attempt on the life of Fernández — who served as president from 2007 to 2015 — shook Argentina, a country with a history of political violence.

Sabag Montiel was grabbed by Fernández's supporters at the scene, and handed over to police. The Brazilian national, who has lived in Argentina for decades, told local media in 2023 that he does not regret his actions and that he acted alone.

His girlfriend at the time, Brenda Uliarte, was arrested days later, accused of taking part in the assassination attempt. The two worked together as street vendors, selling cotton candy. Nicolás Carrizo, the couple's friend and boss, is also on trial, as an accomplice. Uliarte and Carrizo have both denied involvement.

Sabag Montiel, 37, told the jury that he is “apolitical,” that his attack on Fernández was an “act of justice” and that he was “more committed to the social good than anything else.” He testified that his then-girlfriend was his partner in crime.

“I wanted to kill her and she (Uliarte) wanted Fernández to die,” said Montiel, who faces at least 15 years in prison.

The proceedings are expected to take at least one year.

More than 200 witnesses will testify, including Fernández herself. The former president, now 71, has expressed dissatisfaction with the investigation, saying it did not delve into the ideological motive for the attack and that she suspects opposition sectors could have planned and financed it.

After the proceedings opened on Wednesday, she reposted on X a message from Juan Martín Mena, the current justice minister in the province of Buenos Aires, saying the assassination attempt was “one of the most serious events since the recovery of democracy” in 1983 in the country and that judges and prosecutors “have the responsibility and obligation to investigate it.”

Although the three detainees had no political affiliation, they were active on social networks opposed to Fernández and the government of former President Alberto Fernández.

Carlos Rívolo, the prosecutor in charge of the investigation, said in mid-2023 that there was no evidence that a political organization financed, planned, covered up or in any way contributed to the assassination attempt.

At the time, Fernández was on trial for alleged corruption. That trial resulted in a six-year prison sentence and a lifetime disqualification from holding public office for the crime of defrauding the state. She has appealed and those proceedings are pending.

Fernando Sabag Montiel sits in court before the start of a trial for those allegedly responsible for the attempted assassination of former President and Vice President Cristina Fernández in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Montiel, Brenda Uliarte and Nicolás Carrizo are accused of planning and executing the Sept. 2022 attack, which Fernandez survived when the gun did not fire. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Brenda Uliarte sits in court before the start of a trial for those allegedly responsible for the attempted assassination of former President and Vice President Cristina Fernández in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Uliarte, along with Fernando Sabag Montie and Nicolás Carrizo, is accused of planning and executing the September 2022 attack, which Fernandez survived when the gun did not fire. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Nicolás Carrizo sits in court before the start of a trial for those allegedly responsible for the attempted assassination of former President and Vice President Cristina Fernández in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Along with Fernando Sabag Montiel and Brenda Uliarte, Carrizo is accused of planning and executing the September 2022 attack, which Fernandez survived when the gun did not fire. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Fernando Sabag Montiel, center, Nicolás Carrizo, left, and Brenda Uliarte, right, sit in court before the start of a trial for those allegedly responsible for the attempted assassination of former President and Vice President Cristina Fernández in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. The three are accused of planning and executing the Sept. 2022 attack, which Fernandez survived when the gun did not fire. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt and the European Union on Saturday opened a two-day investment conference to advance the implementation of their strategic partnership agreement that includes a 7.4 billion-euro ($8 billion) aid package for the cash-strapped Middle Eastern nation.

The March aid package includes both grants and loans over the next three years for the Arab world’s most populous country. Most of the funds — 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) — are macro-financial assistance to help Egypt shore up its economy, which is hit by a staggering shortage of foreign currency and soaring inflation.

In his opening remarks, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said the conference “sends a powerful message of confidence and support from the European Union for the Egyptian economy and the economic reform measures implemented over the past 10 years.”

The EU, represented by Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, and Egypt will sign a memorandum of understanding for the short-term macro-financial assistance of up to €1 billion ($1.07 billion) to support Egypt’s economic reform program, the EU mission in Cairo said in a statement.

Other investment deals worth 40 billion euros ($42.8 billion) are scheduled to be signed with European companies as well as bilateral cooperation agreements with the EU to advance employment and skills, vaccines manufacturing, food security and sustainable development, it said.

“In just 100 days, we have already brought new energy into our partnership. And this is just the beginning,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who attended the conference, said. “We are backing our new partnership with substantial public investments. But what truly makes a difference is that the private sector is also on board.”

El-Sissi’ government embarked on a massive reform program in 2016 in return for loans from the International Monetary Fund. The reform has centered on floating the local currency, substantial cuts in state subsidies on basic goods, reducing public investment and allowing the private sector to become the engine of growth.

Most recently, the government once again floated the pound and sharply increased the main interest rate in March. Commercial banks are now trading the U.S. currency at more than 47 pounds, up from about 31 pounds.

The measures are meant to combat ballooning inflation and attract foreign investment. They were also needed to meet IMF demands in order to increase its bailout loan from $3 billion to $8 billion.

The currency devaluation and subsidies cuts have inflicted further pain on Egyptians already struggling with skyrocketing prices over the past years. Nearly 30% of Egyptians live in poverty, according to official figures.

The EU deal, which has drawn criticism from rights groups over Egypt’s human rights record, came as concerns grow that economic pressure on Egypt and conflicts in neighboring countries could drive more migrants to European shores.

Over a dozen rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, urged the EU in a letter earlier this month to ensure that its bailout package "secures concrete, measurable, structural, and timebound human rights progress and reforms in the country.”

Egyptian authorities have carried out a relentless crackdown on dissent for a decade, and rights groups have repeatedly called for Western governments to link improving rights conditions to financial assistance.

In this photo provided by Egypt's presidency media office, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, greets President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during the opening of the EU-Egypt Investment Conference in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, June 29, 2024. The two-day conference is part of the Egypt-EU strategic partnership which both parties signed earlier this year aiming at injecting investment in Egypt economy. (Egyptian Presidency Media Office via AP)

In this photo provided by Egypt's Presidency Media Office, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, and President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, pose for a photo, during the opening of the EU-Egypt Investment Conference in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, June 29, 2024. The two-day conference is part of the Egypt-EU strategic partnership which both parties signed earlier this year aiming at injecting investment in Egypt economy. (Egyptian Presidency Media Office via AP)

In this photo provided by Egypt's Presidency Media Office, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, greets President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, before the opening of the EU-Egypt Investment Conference in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, June 29, 2024. The two-day conference is part of the Egypt-EU strategic partnership which both parties signed earlier this year aiming at injecting investment in Egypt economy. (Egyptian Presidency Media Office via AP)