BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina’s Vice President Cristina Fernández has been found guilty of committing a $1 billion fraud involving public works contracts during her presidency. A panel of judges announced her conviction and sentenced her Tuesday to six years in prison and a lifetime ban from public office. The populist leader is certain to appeal. Having denied all the allegations, Fernández lashed out at the verdict, describing herself as the victim of a “judicial mafia.” But she also later announced that she will not run next year for the presidency, a post she previously held in 2007-2015. Her supporters vowed to paralyze the country in a nationwide strike. She will remain immune from arrest until her appeal is settled.
Argentina’s VP Fernández guilty in $1B fraud, gets 6 years
