Espionage case: Foreign Affairs Office says, for the moment, Argentina will not be requested to offer an explanation

SANTIAGO.- The Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Alberto Van Klaveren, has, for the moment, denied that the Foreign Affairs Office will demand an explanation from the Argentine government with regards to actions of espionage carried out by former Argentine agent Iván Velásquez, who has been in custody in Montevideo since January 22nd of this year.

According to Van Klaveren, the office is waiting for the results of an investigation being performed by Uruguayan judge Graciela Gatti, who is in charge of the case against Velásquez. Velásquez is facing charges of aiding and abetting, illegal use of private information and fraudulently obtaining information, among other crimes.

Yesterday, the Uruguayan newspaper "El Observador" revealed that the Argentine agent spied on several Chilean officials. Those affected by the espionage may include former Minister of Defense Jaime Ravinet, former Director of Foreign Policy Carlos Portales and former Ambassador to Colombia Gabriel Gaspar, among other individuals.

Nevertheless, Van Klaveren stated today that "there is no evidence that these hacking attempts actually were successful" and assured that "the Chilean case is only the beginning, since the agent had mainly been targeting officials from his own country, Argentina, as well as Uruguayan authorities and occasional Chilean officials as a means to an end".