Armed man arrested in Argentina’s presidential office: he wanted to meet with Mauricio Macri

An armed man was arrested in the Casa Rosada, Argentina’s presidential office, who tried to enter on the grounds that he had an audience with President Mauricio Macri. The suspect was carrying a box with a Magnum 44 Taurus revolver and was arrested by the Military House before entering the building, according to information from the Government office in Buenos Aires.

The arrested man is Francisco Ariel Muñiz (36), a person who, claiming to have a hearing with the president, tried to enter with a firearm in his portfolio.

Upon finding out that the hearing with the president did not exist, the man tried to leave the briefcase containing a Magnum 44 Taurus revolver, the Argentine presidency added in a bulletin.

This fact occurs almost two years after a man with psychiatric problems also tried to circumvent the security of the building by crashing into the bars of the Casa Rosada during night.

The head of state has received various threats through social networks and by telephone, as when in August 2017 a 26-year-old man was apprehended and accused of threatening to burst his house.

Last November, four teenagers were imprisoned and later released, for trying to enter with a car in a Macri holliday residence, giving as an excuse that one was the goddaughter of the president.

They had managed to pass the first access control to the fifth, at a time when the president was resting with his family.

However, when the security officers became aware of the deception and tried to stop them, the driver of the car backed off and left the place, which led to a police pursuit.

 Finally, the four were arrested later in a fast food restaurant.

The image of Macri has fallen sharply in the polls in recent months, which has worsened the economic crisis that the country is living since, at the end of April 2018, began a sharp devaluation of the peso, inflation rose and it was triggered in a recession that still continues. Macri is still a candidate for October’s presidential elections. </s> BUENOS AIRES – Argentina’s military and federal police scrambled to deal with a bomb threat made against the presidential palace in Buenos Aires while President Mauricio Macri was there on Monday, just hours after a man was arrested trying to enter the building with a gun, an official with the presidential press team said.

The threat against Casa Rosada was made via a phone call in which a person indicated a plan to put a bomb inside a car, the office of Argentina’s Secretary General confirmed to Reuters.

The military activated its protocol for such threats, and a team was dispatched to check and secure the entrances of Casa Rosada, the presidential palace and seat of national government. No car containing explosives was found, and the building was not evacuated.

“There is no possibility of a bomb entering without detecting it,” an official from the office of the secretary general said.

Local media reported that another threat was made against a congressional office and a response team was also on the scene there.

The bomb threat followed the arrest of a man carrying a gun who claimed to have a meeting with Macri, his office said in a separate statement. The city has faced false bomb threats before, including ahead of a meeting of the Group of 20 nations there last year.

Security personnel said Francisco Ariel Muniz, 36, had tried to enter the building with a .44 Magnum Taurus revolver inside his briefcase and told officials he was there for an appointment with center-right leader Macri.

After officials confirmed that no such meeting was scheduled, he tried to leave the briefcase behind. The statement said Muniz was detained by security personnel. Security Minister Patricia Bullrich tweeted that the gun was not loaded.

Macri, who came into office in 2015, will seek re-election in October in what is likely to be a closely fought battle. He has been falling in opinion polls amid high inflation and a tumbling peso that has hurt voters in the recession-hit nation.

An attack outside Argentina’s Congress last week led to the deaths of a senior lawmaker and an aide, though local officials and media have indicated the motive behind the “mafia-style” shooting was personal rather than political. </s> BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine security officials at the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace and seat of national government, arrested a man carrying a gun on Monday who claimed to have a meeting with President Mauricio Macri, his office said in a statement.

Security personnel said Francisco Ariel Muniz, 36, had tried to enter the building with a .44 Magnum Taurus revolver inside his briefcase and told officials he was there for an appointment with center-right leader Macri.

After officials confirmed that no such meeting was scheduled, he tried to leave the briefcase behind. The statement said Muniz was detained by security personnel, but did not give any further details.

Macri, who came into office in 2015, will seek re-election in October in what is likely to be a closely fought battle. He has been falling in opinion polls amid high inflation and a tumbling peso that has hurt voters in the recession-hit nation.

An attack outside Argentina’s Congress last week led to the deaths of a senior lawmaker and an aide, though local officials and media have indicated the motive behind the “mafia-style” shooting was personal rather than political. </s> BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - Argentine authorities say they've detained a man who tried to walk into the presidential palace with a gun while seeking a meeting with the president.

The Telam state news agency says that agents detained Francisco Ariel Muñiz when he tried to enter the Casa Rosada - or Pink House - with a .44-caliber Taurus revolver inside a briefcase.

Officials say he claimed to have a private audience with President Mauricio Macri.

He tried to escape, but was detained by presidential security agents at a subway station. Security Minister Patricia Bullrich says he'll be given a medical examination.

Telam later said explosives experts were sent to a congressional building and the presidential office following bomb threats. It's not clear if the two incidents are related.

A van from the Argentine Federal Police Explosion Brigade sits parked outside Congress after bomb threats in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, May 13, 2019. Bomb threats were received at the annex building of the Chamber of Deputies and in the Casa Rosada, according to the official news agency Télam. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Police with a work dog stands outside one of Congress' annex buildings after bomb threats in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, May 13, 2019. Bomb threats were received at the annex building of the Chamber of Deputies and in the Casa Rosada, according to the official news agency Télam. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) </s> BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — A man was detained Monday after he tried to walk into Argentina’s presidential palace with a pistol while seeking a meeting with the president.

Security agents stopped Francisco Ariel Muñiz when he sought to enter the Casa Rosada — or Pink House — with a .44-caliber Taurus revolver inside a briefcase. Officials said he claimed to have a private audience with President Mauricio Macri.

The man fled, but was detained by presidential security agents at a subway station. Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said that he would be given a medical examination and that the gun was not loaded.

The Telam state news agency later said that explosives experts were sent to a building next to the lower house of Congress and the presidential palace following bomb threats.

Local media then reported that other bomb threats forced an evacuation of the capital’s two main train stations.

It was not clear if the incidents were related.



 In this photo released by the Argentine Federal Police, a man is taken into custody outside the government house, La Casa Rosada, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, May 13, 2019. According to officials, a man they identify as Francisco Ariel Muñiz tried to enter the government house with a gun in a briefcase. (Argentine Federal Police via AP) (Associated Press)

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Man with gun tries to enter Argentina presidential office

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A man was detained Monday after he tried to walk into Argentina's presidential palace with a pistol while seeking a meeting with the president.

Security agents stopped Francisco Ariel Muñiz when he sought to enter the Casa Rosada — or Pink House — with a .44-caliber Taurus revolver inside a briefcase. Officials said he claimed to have a private audience with President Mauricio Macri.

The man fled, but was detained by presidential security agents at a subway station. Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said that he would be given a medical examination and that the gun was not loaded.

The Telam state news agency later said that explosives experts were sent to a building next to the lower house of Congress and the presidential palace following bomb threats.

Local media then reported that other bomb threats forced an evacuation of the capital's two main train stations.

It was not clear if the incidents were related. </s> BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentine authorities say they’ve detained a man who tried to walk into the presidential palace with a gun while seeking a meeting with the president.

The Telam state news agency says that agents detained Francisco Ariel Muniz when he tried to enter the Casa Rosada — or Pink House — with a .44-calibre Taurus revolver inside a briefcase.

Officials say he claimed to have a private audience with President Mauricio Macri.

He tried to escape, but was detained by presidential security agents at a subway station. Security Minister Patricia Bullrich says he’ll be given a medical examination.

Telam later said explosives experts were sent to a congressional building and the presidential office following bomb threats. It’s not clear if the two incidents are related. </s> Un hombre fue detenido en Casa Rosada en la mañana de este lunes 13 de mayo, luego de que intentara ingresar armado a la sede del Poder Ejecutivo Nacional con el argumento de que tenía una entrevista con el presidente Mauricio Macri.

"Personal de seguridad de la Casa Rosada, dependiente de la Casa Militar, detuvo esta mañana y puso a disposición de la justicia, a una persona que, aduciendo tener una audiencia con el presidente Mauricio Macri, intentó ingresar llevando un arma de fuego en su portafolios", indicaron desde Presidencia en un comunicado.

El detenido fue identificado como Francisco Ariel Muñiz, de 36 años, un artesano conocido de la zona del microcentro de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Tenía en su posesión un revólver Magnum 44 Taurus.

La pistola que lo encontraron al detenido.

Según el reporte policial, el hombre se acercó a la reja de la Casa Rosada y pidió una audiencia con el mandatario. El personal de Policía Federal Argentina (PFA) le indicó que esa no era la forma adecuada de solicitar una entrevista con el Presidente, lo que generó el descontento del hombre, quien de manera imprevista arrojó una caja plástica de pequeña dimensión dentro del predio de la Casa Rosada.

Luego, Muñiz se alejó caminado mientras se activó el protocolo de seguridad, tanto externo como interno de la Casa de Gobierno. El hombre fue capturado por agentes de la Policía de la Ciudad en la boca del subte de Balcarce e Hipólito Yrigoyen. Se desplazó hasta el lugar la Brigada de explosivos de la PFA que determinó que en el interior de la caja lanzada se encontraba un revolver.

Se van a labrar actuaciones por intimidación pública. El caso quedó a cargo del Juzgado Federal Nro 11 del juez Claudio Bonadio.

En conferencia de prensa, la ministra de Seguridad Patricia Bullrich detalló que era un hombre que realizó a lo largo de los años varios pedidos de audiencias con Macri que "fueron canalizados por distintas dependencias del Gobierno, como la Oficina de Empleo y en el Ministerio de Justicia".

El hombre envió el año pasado un hacha como regalo al Presidente, contó Bullrich

"Las primeras palabras que dijo que que quería llamar la atención porque había pedido varias entrevistas. En todos fue derivado en distintas dependencias de acuerdo a lo que había solicitado. Tiene un problema, de acuerdo a lo que él mismo dijo, de vinculación con su hija que hacía 4 años que no la veía, era un caso complejo", indicó la ministra de Seguridad. Bullrich contó que Muñiz había tenido una "relación superficial" con el PRO y eso fue lo que "utilizaba como mecanismo para pedir una entrevista con el Presidente".

Por otro lado, la titular de la cartera de Seguridad reveló que el año pasado el hombre habiía enviado un regalo un "poco extraño": un hacha. "A la persona evidentemente habrá que hacerle análisis psiquiátricos. Ahora vino con un revolver, así que creemos que es alguien que puede tener algún problema y van a hacérsele estudios médicos", concluyó.

F.F./ B.D.N. </s> (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Monday’s panic over Argentina’s weekend election results — the peso fell 15% and the S&P Merval stock index suffered its second worst rout in 70 years — may have been a bit overwrought. It was a primary election, after all, and the winning opposition candidate, Alberto Fernandez, has denied any intention to default on Argentina’s debt. But it sends an important message to Fernandez, and his running mate, former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner: Before the October election, they must convince stakeholders in Argentina’s economy that they understand the need to carry on with incumbent President Mauricio Macri’s economic reforms, if by another name.

Fernandez’s win was such a landslide, it sparked fears of a return to debt default, uncontrolled inflation and frenzied selloffs, precisely the sort of trouble that Argentines thought they had left behind. But the new market mess is a panic foretold.

Argentina’s leaders have been fatally misreading economic cues for decades. Misguided austerity and a flawed tether to the U.S. dollar in the late 1990s set off a currency collapse, riots, a run on banks, four presidents unseated in one 10-day stretch and, by 2002, the world’s largest sovereign debt default.

That debacle laid ground for the next. The Peronist tag team of Nestor Kirchner (2003-2007) and his wife and successor Cristina Fernandez (2007-2015) vowed to reclaim the country from predatory creditors, and briefly revived growth — before going on to squander the global commodities boom and turn South America’s second biggest economy into one of its most dysfunctional markets.

That wreckage helped propel Macri into office in 2015, on his market-friendly promise to restore Argentina to economic normalcy and the international community’s good graces. And he kept his word. Macri mended relations with global lenders, secured a rescue package from the International Monetary Fund, allowed the peso to float and belatedly engaged in the kind of fiscal probity that his populist predecessors had scorned. Yet his structural reforms were hesitant. And he faced a record drought that punished Argentina’s competitive farm sector, as well as a global selloff of emerging market assets. So he failed to deliver growth, jobs or stable prices — much less persuade voters to give him a second chance.

Credit the Peronists for spinning Macri’s grief into electoral gold. Barring an unlikely comeback — Eurasia Group rates Macri’s reelection prospects at just 10% — Fernandez is likely to be elected president in October, or in a runoff in December.

Yet here’s the irony: Macri may have moved too slowly and diffidently to put Argentina’s public accounts fully in order, but his policies are beginning to coax the country in the right direction. Whoever moves into the Casa Rosada in December will find little alternative but to carry them through.

Fernandez must now be clear that he understands that any return to government economic controls and protectionism would be folly. Yesterday, he said Argentina needs to rework its economic model, but didn’t explain how. He’ll have to do better than that. As Alberto Ramos of Goldman Sachs put it, “Fernandez not only needs to say the right things, but to convince people he means them, or else the markets will start to second guess him.”

To boost his credibility, Fernandez could name someone with a track record in finance to reach out to creditors and the IMF, clearly signaling his commitment to follow through with the fiscal consolidation Macri has put in motion. Leave it to the ecumenical Peronists to work those free-market principles into the populist gospel of reform.

Such efforts may still fall flat unless Fernandez, who has never run for national office, also shows what sort of leader he means to be. Can voters expect the pragmatist and conciliator he was when he broke ranks with the confrontational Cristina in 2008? Or will they be left with a mouthpiece for the mercurial Peronist power broker, bent on ruling by proxy and spending money Argentina doesn’t have?

The mayhem in the markets is a cautionary tale. Unless Fernandez can shed his slate’s populist legacy and deepen his rival’s policy agenda, he will stumble. After a decade of economic chaos brought on by willful politicians, the last thing Argentines need is another tone-deaf leader.

To contact the author of this story: Mac Margolis at mmargolis14@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mary Duenwald at mduenwald@bloomberg.net

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Mac Margolis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Latin and South America. He was a reporter for Newsweek and is the author of “The Last New World: The Conquest of the Amazon Frontier.”
A 36-year-old man is arrested just outside Casa Rosada in Argentina, armed with a handgun, after requesting to hold an interview with President Mauricio Macri.