Carlos Bettini

[2][3] In his early years, Bettini belonged to the Montoneros, a militant left-wing group of the 1960s and 70s and, according to some sources, was the principal perpetrator of the "ETA-style" murder of retired naval captain Jorge Bigliardi on a street in La Plata on June 12, 1976.

Some sources indicate that his brother-in-law Jorge Devoto, another naval captain who lived in the same building as Bigliardi, was another proposed target for assassination by Bettini and his confederates.

After Isabel Perón was released from Spanish prison and moved to Madrid, Bettini reportedly "approached her and won her confidence" and developed a close relationship with her, soon taking the place of Mario Rotundo, who had been in charge of the assets she had inherited from her husband.

After he took over this role, Bettini reportedly was an "accomplice" of Argentine President Carlos Menem and Isabel Perón in the management of several funds.

[6] From 1983 to 1993, he served as an advisor on foreign relations to the Spanish government Ombudsman, a position that during those years was held in turn by Joaquín Ruiz-Giménez Cortés, Álvaro Gil-Robles, and Margarita Retuerto Buades.

According to Basteiro, Bettini promoted a business strategy for the airline that involved borrowing a hundred million dollars, selling real estate, equipment, and aircraft, and cutting back on services.

He was Argentina's representative to the annual meeting of the UN Commission for the Prevention of Crime in Vienna (1994,1995) and to an international conference of Ombudsmen in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1994.

[1] In December 1999, Patricia Bullrich, then Minister of Corrections, filed a complaint against Bettini with federal Judge Jorge Urso for corruption, specifically for an attempt to bribe Bullrich herself, in connection with his alleged activity on behalf of a Spanish firm, Dycasa, that sought to secure a contract to build and renovate prisons in Argentina.

[8][9] On June 2, 2001, Bullrich, then Minister of Labor, said in a television interview "that...no one had shown interest in the proposed privatization of Aerolíneas Argentinas" in 1990 and that "Carlos Menem had to personally call Felipe González to ask that Iberia do so."

[7] At one point, Bettini also was the subject of a preliminary probe into charges of conspiracy, involving payments made to benefit the interests of the "Floating Casino" gambling boat.

[1] His appointment as ambassador to Spain caused controversy because he had no diplomatic background and was viewed as a lobbyist for Spanish business interests in Argentina.