Salazar Introduces CASES Act in House

Maria Elvira Salazar

Florida Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R) has introduced legislation to hold the Kirchner Government in Argentina accountable. The bill, titled the CASES Act, looks to confront corruption in Argentina’s government.

The bill is the companion legislation to the Corruption in Argentina Stymied by Enforcing Sanctions Act that was introduced in the Senate by Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R). The bill would require that the President investigate five Argentine officials for corruption. This includes Argentina’s Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. After the investigation is conducted, if the President uncovers that the Argentine officials meet the criteria for corruption sanctions, then the bill would mandate the imposition of said sanctions.

In a statement, Salazar championed the bill, saying that “Cristina Fernandez and her inner circle are some of Latin America’s most prolific embezzlers of public funds.” She urged the United States to “take action against their unchecked abuse of power, which has resulted in theft and loss of billions of dollars belonging to the Argentinian people.”

Joining Salazar in supporting the bill are Florida Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R), New York Rep. Mike Lawler (R), and Resident Commissioner Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon (R).

Senator Cruz has also commented on the effort to sanction Kirchner, calling her “a deeply corrupt politician who has undermined Argentina’s rule of law and its political institutions.”

Citing that “the evidence against her is public, credible, and backed up by Argentina’s courts,” Cruz said that “beyond Argentina, she and her associates have undermined American security interests in the region by placing Argentina’s institutions at the service of Iran’s global terrorism campaign” and “they continue to do so.”

As such, Cruz explained that “the United States Congress has passed into law authorities for the President to sanction individuals like Fernandez de Kirchner and her associates.”

“My CASES Act mandates that President Biden uses them for what they were meant for – protecting American interests abroad from corrupt politicians seeking to undermine them,” he concluded.