Re: Just when you thought Argentina got straightened out

Bribes are also common in Latin America.... It is considered a norm to
pay a little extra to get things done faster, but not necessarily
illegally.

However, had the dough been legit she could have sent it to her
embassies by transfer as most heads of State do when there is a
legitimate reason.

On Jan 14, 10:46 pm, dick thompson <rhomp2...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> *Thieves Reveal Other Argentine Crimes? *Here's the story that raised my
> suspicions
> <http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20110114-314364/...>.
>
>     Thieves on motorcycle held up an aide to President Cristina Kirchner
>     and fled with a bag-load of cash he was carrying for an upcoming
>     foreign trip, police told AFP on Thursday.
>
>     One of the assailants put a gun to the aide's head, then fled with
>     the bag that contained 68,000 dollars and 17,000 euros in cash,
>     local news media reported.
>
> If that doesn't raise your suspicions, consider this:  When President
> Obama travels abroad, how much cash does he carry?  Perhaps a little to
> buy souvenirs in a market, but no more than that.
>
> Nor would you expect anyone on his staff to carry large amounts of money
> since they can pay for expenses with electronic fund transfers.
>
> Argentina has had its little problems in recent years
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_debt_restructuring>, but there
> is no reason to think that they can't use electronic fund transfers, too.
>
> So, why did President Kirchner want to bring that much cash with her on
> this trip?
>
> I don't have the answer to that question, but I am comfortable saying
> that the reason is far more likely to be illegitimate than legitimate.
>   She might, for instance, have wanted the cash for bribes to officials
> in the Middle East.  (You may not want to tell young children this, but
> bribes are common in Middle East dealings.)  And you can probably think
> of half a dozen similar possibilities, without much effort.
>
> (Kirchner survived an earlier cash scandal, when a suitcase
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maletinazo> full of money, apparently from
> Hugo Chavez, showed up in Argentina.)
> - 7:13 AM, 14 January 2011

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