Former commander is convicted of sinking Argentine submarine that imploded at sea and killed 44 crew members

File photo, taken in 2014, shows the ARA San Juan submarine in Buenos Aires
Argentine Navy/Handout via Reuters
Argentine justice sentenced former Submarine Force commander Claudio Villamide to three years in prison for the sinking, in 2017, of the ARA San Juan submarine, which killed 44 crew members, according to the sentence read by the court this Wednesday (8).
Despite the sentence, he should not be detained.
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The vessel listed and imploded in the South Atlantic, in one of the greatest tragedies of the Argentine Navy in times of peace.
According to the action, the vessel had begun its patrol mission in front of the Argentine coast without being in optimal conditions for navigation. The submarine had a 100-meter immersion restriction because it had pending tests after completing half-life repairs.
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The federal court in the province of Santa Cruz found Villamide guilty of negligence and failure to fulfill the duties of a public servant, while three other naval commanders were acquitted.
The court unanimously convicted the 62-year-old former commander and former head of the Navy's submarine division, and imposed a conditional sentence of three years which, in principle, avoids his imprisonment.
The sentence imposed by the court does not represent the effective imprisonment of the former naval commander, who must inform his address and present himself to justice for the duration of his sentence.
The former captains Luis Enrique López Mazzeo, Héctor Aníbal Alonso and Hugo Correa were acquitted - the only ones, together with Villamide, who were put on trial in a process that involved a hundred witnesses.
'Insufficient' punishment
"The family members will appeal the acquittals and demand more severe sentences," said the plaintiffs' lawyer Valeria Carreras, representing the majority of the victims' relatives, who considered the court's punishment "insufficient."
The appeals will be presented after the court publishes the reasons for the sentence on August 21. Villamide", explained Carreras.
Despite everything, the lawyer highlighted the sentence.
"It is important to have been able to prove Villamide's guilt. There were 44 preventable deaths and it is a message to the Armed Forces and the State to take care of the nation's servants", she added.
In any case, she admitted "a certain disappointment" with the acquittals of the other defendants.
The Public Prosecutor's Office maintained that Villamide did not take it into account. "the poor readiness conditions" of the submarine and for this reason had requested a sentence of five years in prison.
The action, which represents the families of the victims, 43 men and one woman, had requested prison sentences for the four defendants.
Image shows part of the wreckage of the ARA San Juan submarine found at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean
Argentine Navy/AFP
Inconclusive investigations
The causes of the sinking remain unclear. The submarine reported a breakdown and a fire caused by a short circuit in the battery room. On November 15, 2017, it sank to a depth of 100 meters and imploded.
An international operation participated in the search for the vessel when there was still hope of finding its crew alive after the Argentine Navy announced that the submarine had suffered a "communications failure".
However, the wreckage of the submarine was found a year later 500 km off the Argentine coast and around 900 meters deep in the South Atlantic, without ever being rescued.

Source: G1

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