The former deputy Facundo Moyano, who in 2017 promoted and in 2020 reintroduced a bill to punish with imprisonment drivers who refused to undergo breathalyzer or drug tests, has now rejected submitting to one of those tests during a police procedure that led to his arrest.
The initiative promoted by Moyano proposed to amend Article 48 of the National Traffic Law. The text established that a driver who, when requested by an officer, refused to undergo the legally mandated tests to check for the presence of alcohol, toxic drugs, narcotics, or psychotropic substances should receive a penalty of between six months and one year in prison.
Facundo Moyano, detained
Additionally, the bill included a disqualification from driving for a period exceeding one year and up to four years. In other words, it was not merely an administrative sanction, but a proposal to turn the refusal to submit to a test into a crime with legal consequences.
Six years after having reintroduced that initiative as a national deputy, Moyano ended up doing exactly what he intended to punish with jail time. According to information released after his arrest, he refused to take a drug test during the police operation initiated by the incident involving Candela Arizaga in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Belgrano.
The former legislator was detained for several hours and then regained his freedom, although he remains charged with minor injuries and unlawful deprivation of liberty in the context of gender violence. The court ordered that he cannot approach Arizaga within 300 meters or maintain contact with her while the investigation progresses.
During his statement before the North Flagrancy Unit, Moyano denied having exercised violence against his partner and claimed that he never prevented her from leaving the apartment. He also stated that the relationship had been loving and that there were no physical or verbal aggressions.
The case was initiated after neighbors called 911 upon seeing a semi-naked and barefoot woman running down Avenida del Libertador, while a man tried to catch up with her. The officers later found both of them in the area of Virrey Vértiz and Sucre.
