Viedma businessman accused of drug trafficking from the United States fell in Neuquén

A Viedma citizen, who has lived in the United States for years, was detained at Neuquén airport on Friday because an Interpol red alert is in effect calling for his capture.

The charges of the United States government are por Large-scale drug trafficking, money laundering and electronic fraud. The suspect owns an airline and is charged with fund political campaigns in certain countries, including Argentina.

His appearance at Neuquén airport caused a stir among the police. Airport security police, who had received the red alert from Interpol, arrested the man immediately and made him available to Federal Judge Gustavo Villanueva.

The reasons why the individual arrived in Neuquén are unknown, although It turned out that less than a month ago he rented an apartment in the city.

He is also believed to have a home in Viedma, and in 2019 Noticias magazine linked him to funding José Luis Espert’s presidential campaign.

Various sources consulted by Black River they identified the inmate as Federico machado. Yesterday afternoon, he was finishing the proceedings at the Federal Police Headquarters in Neuquén, while waiting for his situation to be determined.

Closer in time, in March of this year, the advisers of the Frente de Todos de San Antonio Oeste rejected the signing of an agreement between the municipality and the company Max Technology SRL which “allows the installation of a ship repair shop in a municipal building located in an area of ​​San Antonio Bay, maximum vulnerability due to its historical and environmental value “.

The councilors said that the representative of the company before the municipality is Diego Goñi, a retired military pilot, and they deduce that he has arrived in San Antonio Oeste. “by the owner of the plane Viedmense, who lived in Miami for years, Federico” Fred “Machado, famous among other things for being the one who collaborated with the money and the logistics for the campaign of José Luis Espert and, not so pleasantly, to be the owner of the plane in which nearly a ton of cocaine was seized in Spain, for which the Juliá brothers were imprisoned “.

Councilors Guillermo Masch, Marcela Dodero and Vanesa Carmona add in their complaint that “Machado’s money from the United States from activities linked to planes, as is known in the provincial capital, went to fields, mining and various investments, run by his cousin, former basketball player Claudio Cicarelli, who has close business ties with Claudio Urcera from San Antonio and Cementos de Sur benchmark Luis Longo, also a Baires Fly aviator. “

Meanwhile, a survey published in March by El Periódico de Guatemala indicates that “the name of Federico Andrés Machado was mentioned on January 27 during a convocation to the Congress of the Republic as allegedly responsible for operating an illegal mine in Camotán, Chiquimula, where they would extract gold and silver “.

“But this Argentinian citizen With investments in mining, construction and the development of tourism projects in Guatemala, he has more serious and urgent problems to solve: on February 24, he was charged by the United States government with seven other people to join an organization which, between 2012 and December 18, 2020 conspired with drug traffickers in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Belize, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico to send thousands of kilos of cocaine to the United States. “.

The journalistic investigation adds that “Machado, Debbie Mercer-Ewin and their daughter Kayleigh Moffett, would have laundered at least 350 million US dollars from 2016 to December 2020, according to investigations by the US prosecution. For this, they are charged with five crimes: conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine, conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine knowing that it was going to be illegally taken to the United States, manufacture and distribution of cocaine. cocaine knowing that it would be introduced there. an illegal route in the United States, a conspiracy to commit money laundering and a conspiracy to commit electronic fraud. “