Overview

• Argentina’s Supreme Court issued a unanimous verdict upholding Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s six-year prison sentence and lifetime disqualification from public office with no further appeals allowed.
• The conviction stems from a 2022 fraud finding that she directed 51 public works contracts to a businessman ally at inflated costs, resulting in roughly $70 million in embezzlement.
• Defendants over 70 can seek home detention and Kirchner’s lawyers have already said they will petition for house arrest based on her age.
• Supporters blocked key roadways into Buenos Aires in protest of the decision, while President Javier Milei hailed the verdict on social media with the simple message “Justice. Period.”
• The ruling bars Kirchner from running in September’s Buenos Aires provincial elections and forces the Peronist movement to reshape its leadership ahead of October midterms.