During a new hearing of the trial for the Cuadernos Case, photographs and videos of the raid conducted in 2018 at the residence of Cristina Kirchner in El Calafate were shown for the first time, where investigators detected a room with a camouflaged steel frame and traces of what appeared to be a bulletproof door.
The material was presented before the Federal Oral Court No. 7 (TOF 7) at the request of the Attorney General Fabiana León, during the testimony of Adrián Lotocki, then head of the Río Gallegos delegation of the Federal Police and one of the operatives responsible.
The operation was carried out in August 2018 by order of then-judge Claudio Bonadio, who described that space as a vault. Cristina Kirchner has repeatedly denied the existence of such a structure on her property.
According to the record incorporated into the case and displayed during the trial, the room measured 2.85 meters wide, 0.97 meters deep, and 2.20 meters high. Investigators detected a steel perimeter frame that had been concealed behind wooden paneling and observed two ground-down hinges.
Images of the steel frame that they tried to hide with coverings.
The conclusion recorded in the procedure was that these elements constituted an indication that there had been a bulletproof or security door that was later removed. Masonry and a conventional door had been placed over the metal frame.
Lotocki recalled before the court that the access immediately caught the investigators' attention due to its thickness and the difficulties the Gendarmerie had in opening it. "There was a room before going up to the first floor that caught our attention," the former commissioner reported. When specifically asked if there was a bulletproof door, he replied: "Apparently yes."
Inside, documents, binders, and various valuable items were found, including presidential canes and a letter from José de San Martín to Bernardo O'Higgins. Folders and reports related to judges, politicians, and businessmen were also seized.
The hearing was also marked by the former commissioner's repeated "forgetfulness" regarding some details of the operation. Prosecutor León questioned his responses and expressed her displeasure at the lack of precision after eight years.
One of the safes in El Calafate
When asked by representatives of the Financial Information Unit if he had ever observed an access with similar characteristics, Lotocki replied that he had not. His defense immediately recalled that this had been the only raid on the property of a former president in which he had participated.
The day continued with the testimony of former brigadier Alfredo Horacio Amaral, a member of the delegation responsible for Tango 01 during the presidency of Néstor Kirchner, who provided details about official flights to Santa Cruz and the transport of presidential luggage.
