Argentina navy chief’s sacking over submarine tragedy is biggest scalp yet
Military sources said President Mauricio Macri was willing to retire most of the naval leadership
Argentina has dismissed its naval chief, the most high-profile officer to be fired a month after a submarine went missing with 44 crew members on board.
“The defence minister asked him to retire. It’s a political decision,” a navy officer said on condition of anonymity about the decision to remove Admiral Marcelo Srur during an ongoing investigation into the sub’s disappearance.
Srur is the fifth senior officer to have been relieved of his functions so far over the ARA San Juan’s disappearance.
Military sources said President Mauricio Macri was willing to retire most of the naval leadership.
The government is also creating an internal investigative commission that will be headed by retired captain Jorge Bergallo, father of the ARA San Juan’s second commander, Jorge Ignacio Bergallo, government sources told state news agency Telam.
An international search operation has so far failed to locate the vessel. The 43 men and one woman who were aboard are believed to have died in the tragedy.