Attack on ministers in Argentina
Sergio Berni, security minister of Argentina’s Buenos Aires province, was attacked this Monday (3) when he was amid a crowd of bus drivers protesting and calling for more security after a colleague was killed in a robbery. . .
The minister was attacked with blows and stones. Motorists went on strike and blocked a highway on the outskirts of the country’s capital.
Daniel Barrientos, a colleague of the drivers, died after being shot in the chest overnight. He was driving in the municipality of La Matanza, one of the most unsafe on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, when he was pulled over by criminals.
The minister arrived in the region in a helicopter to speak to the protesters. Suddenly, several of them rushed at Berni, throwing stones. Some managed to hit him, causing his nose to bleed, a scene recorded by journalists who were present.
Leaning against a wall and protected by a few police officers, journalists and protesters trying to calm the most violent, Berni said he understood the drivers’ outrage and “the problem they face every day”.
1 of 1 Sergio Berni, Minister of Security for the Province of Buenos Aires, center, is taken at a protest in Buenos Aires, Monday April 3, 2023. — Photo: AP Photo/Andrés Pelozo Sergio Berni, Minister of Security of Buenos Aires Province, Center, emerges from a protest in Buenos Aires, Monday, April 3, 2023. — Photo: AP Photo/Andrés Pelozo
“I’m showing my face here,” said the provincial minister, who was berated by his attackers, who called him a “liar” for what they said was his failure to implement security measures to fight crime, a top concern of Argentines, according to research .
Again and again there are violent attacks on bus passengers who are traveling in the greater Buenos Aires area.
After a few minutes, Berni was removed from the scene by the police, who were suppressing the demonstrators. The minister got into a fight with the police because he did not want to leave the place where he was trying to speak to his attackers.
The minister, who headed the National Security Secretariat during part of the tenure of current Vice President Cristina Kirchner, is nicknamed “SuperBerni” for his strong language and media appearances during megasecurity operations, which include the use of helicopters and imposing Police car.