Gunman Attempts to Kill Alfonsin
A retired border guard tried to shoot former President Raul Alfonsin while he was speaking at a political rally, but Alfonsin supporters subdued the assailant when the gun jammed.
Alfonsin, who returned Argentina to civilian rule after a seven-year military dictatorship, called the assassination attempt Saturday night “an isolated incident.”
The attempted assassination took place as Alfonsin spoke at a rally for his party, the main opposition Radical Civic Union, in the city of San Nicolas, 160 miles north of Buenos Aires.
Carlos Castro, Alfonsin’s spokesman, identified the attacker as Ismael Abdala, a retired member of the Gendarmerie, Argentina’s militarized border guard.
Castro said two accomplices escaped.
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