Buenos Aires (EFE).- An Argentine court on Wednesday sentenced Fernando Sabag Montiel to 10 years in prison and his former partner, Brenda Uliart, to eight years for attempting to assassinate former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2007-2015; 2019-2023) in 2022, in an attack that shocked the country and nearly claimed the life of the influential political leader.
Judge Sabrina Namer, president of the Federal Criminal Oral Court No. 6, announced the ruling alongside magistrates Adrián Grünberg and Ignacio Fornari, finding Sabag Montiel “criminally responsible for the attempted aggravated homicide using a firearm and for carrying a war weapon without legal authorization.”
Uliarte was convicted as a “necessary participant” in the crime for aiding her then-partner.
A third defendant, Nicolás Carrizo, initially accused of leading the group behind the plot, was acquitted due to lack of evidence after being released from pretrial detention in Aug. 2024.
The court determined that Sabag Montiel, 37, pointed a loaded gun at Fernández’s face and pulled the trigger just centimeters (inches) away, but the shot failed to fire due to a mechanical malfunction.
“I wanted to kill Cristina,” says main defendant
During his final statement, Sabag Montiel claimed that the case against him was “fabricated,” despite having previously admitted during the trial’s opening session on Jun. 26, 2024, that he “wanted to kill Cristina.”
Uliarte chose not to testify before the court, while Carrizo criticized the judicial delays: “The three years I spent in prison, no one will give them back to me,” he said.
Prosecutors had sought 15 years for Sabag Montiel and 14 for Uliarte, while Fernández’s lawyers requested 15 years for both.
Attack took place outside Fernández’s home
The failed assassination occurred on Sep. 1, 2022, outside Fernández’s residence in Buenos Aires, where supporters had gathered amid a corruption trial against her over alleged irregularities in public works contracts during her presidency (2007–2015).
Fernández, who later served as vice president, was convicted in Jun. 2025 in that separate case to six years of house arrest and a lifetime ban from public office.
She did not attend Wednesday’s hearing or request permission to appear in court.
The session took place under tight security but without crowds of Fernández’s supporters, a stark contrast to previous demonstrations during her legal battles.
The ten-year sentence adds to a four-year, three-month prison term Sabag Montiel has been serving since May 2025 for possession and distribution of child sexual exploitation material involving minors under 13. EFE
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