Santiago Caputo retires. After the parliamentary elections, Karina Milei won the battle and the adviser was forced to move some chips within the organizational chart in order to retain power. Most recently he moved to SIDE with the appointment of Cristian Auguadra and to the Ministry of Health. It is not new that Mario Lugones’ department reports directly to him, but in recent weeks he has made sure to shield his influence by appointing Guido Giana as vice president of the region. A man with different loyalties, he knew the military in Pro, albeit clear in his gestures: two months before his appointment, he donated 22 million pesos to the legislative campaign of La Libertad Avanza (LLA). A move that guaranteed him control of one of the government’s most sensitive funds. Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the Presidential Office looks askance.
Giana became Caputo’s supporter. He came to him through Rodrigo Lugones, son of the minister and partner of the strategist at the consulting firm Move Group. The official is not an improvised person: until a month ago he headed the operational and financial sector of the Güemes sanatorium – the historic home of the Lugones – and managed another important fund, that of PAMI, during the government of Mauricio Macri, a period in which he was involved in at least three legal proceedings that link him to a matrix of corruption within the organization.
In the meantime, he has learned to keep a low profile and avoid the radar. Before Cecilia Loccisano’s departure, he was already mentioned as an unofficial part of the health team. A sort of shadow advisor, a trait he shares with the President’s advisor. His repeated visits to Casa Rosada in 2024 seem to confirm this. Curiously, the revenue goes back to the beginning of the government, even to the time of Mario Russo. In the meantime, the “Heavenly One” received him in his office in the Martín Fierro Hall. He also visited the Chief of Staff.
A health lobbyist. Little is said about it, but it was always on Caputo’s radar. An old friend for those who run “the health business”. Someone walking down all the hallways in the area “with terminals on both sides of the counter,” some very knowledgeable sources will say. It is not a technical image as Loccisano might portray, although there is something else that distinguishes them. The former vice president was the partner of Jorge Triaca, a member of former President Mauricio Macri’s small table. Giana, on the other hand, moved away from the pro, to which she knew how to belong not only as financial manager of PAMI, but also as María Eugenia Vidal’s official in the province and councilor of President Perón. However, his multi-million dollar contribution to the LLA reflected his new loyalty. A Win-win situation For the strategist, this meant that in addition to the contribution, any interference by Macri in the ministry was avoided. He finished the armoring of his fortress.
As Electoral Justice sources confirmed to LA NACION, Giana was transferred on September 1st More than 20 million pesos for the national campaign the violets. Five days earlier he had withdrawn the amount from the same account that was in his name $2,176,024 for “institutional development” the party in Land of Fire. Fate is not a coincidence, Mario Agustin Gallo -Giana’s partner in the healthcare company Lanson SA He lives in this province, where his father Daniel was deputy governor during the administration of the Peronist Carlos Manfredotti.
“It’s a significant amount. It’s not the usual average.”Electoral justice sources disclosed the campaign donation, but clarified that it was not an irregularity. The situation changed with the move to Tierra del Fuego, where the entrepreneur would have doubled the budget limit earmarked for “institutional development”. In this province the current limit is $1,170,718, Therefore, the amount will remain under observation when the parties officially submit their capitulations.
Those close to the official put the scale of the transfers into perspective, attributing them to the “significant heritage” he owns, which includes a field of more than 300 hectares on the border of the Guernica property, taken over by more than 2,500 families in 2020. Giana became the visible face of the conflict and came to Mirtha Legrand’s table as a victim. In front of the camera, he denounced “a violation of private property.” Then I would lower my profile.
Giana came to a Ministry of Health cornered by the cause of contaminated fentanyl, the scandal at Andis and several complaints in PAMI units: a problem that led to a statement from the head of the organization, Pablo Leguízamo, who announced that he would proceed with internal audits to send a message to Menem and Pareja. Karina Milei’s “Terrestrials” are responsible for coordinating several of the institute’s delegations in the country as part of the party meeting.
Leguizamo assured that for years PAMI “a“A black box in the service of politics.” The question arises as to whether Caputo’s chosen one would have been the exception. During her time in the organization, Giana has been involved in at least three court cases investigating alleged overpricing, a return scheme and fraud against public administration.
After leaving office in 2019, the then yellow leader was criminally denounced by the UFI-PAMI after a report submitted by the Auditor General of the Nation (AGN) scrutinized the procedure for purchasing and paying for oncology drugs. The case was filed at the Federal Criminal and Correctional Court No. 1 under the direction of Dr. Sebastián Casanello with intervention from the Federal Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No. 10, led by Dr. María Paloma Ochoa submitted. In June this year, the prosecutor asked the judge to file the case for lack of criminality. However, there are two open cases that call into question Caputo’s chosen leadership in the organization.
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