Although he was convicted and detained in the United States twenty years ago in a case Cause related to drug traffickingSenator-elect of La Libertad Avanza, Río Negro, Lorena VillaverdeHe denied committing any crime and denounced “armed cases.” Moreover, he questioned the challenge that prevented him from being sworn in last Friday in the Senate, and for this reason, Withdrew his resignation In the House of Representatives due to the possibility that another representative will take his place.
“They have tarnished my name and honor with such cruelty. No one is willing to have their name destroyed, and for the harm they have done to my teenage children, I cannot help but feel anguish and pain. In all cases, I have been acquitted in the armed cases. “I am not a drug dealer, I am not a fraud, and I have no current criminal cases in either Argentina or the United States.”Villaverde said Wednesday.
In conversation with Radio RivadaviaThe senator-elect, who was challenged by the opposition at her swearing-in on Friday, admitted she had been convicted in the US, but then… “He was dismissed and acquitted.” “They did not find any illegal action in my life. I was investigated, there were raids, all kinds of investigations and they did not find any illegal action in my life. I did not commit any crime. I have no contact with Federico “Fred” Machado (He is accused of drug smuggling, money laundering and fraud who was extradited to the United States). It is also not a crime to have a friend whose cousin is being investigated. “They are defending morality by violating the constitution by refusing to take the oath without reason, and they previously had other terms, in 2023 and 2025, to challenge the list,” Villaverde complained.
The legislator stressed that even with complaints submitted, The voters of Rio Negro ratified his candidacy. He added, “In the governorate, they approved of me, and judged my moral, ethical and practical abilities. They approved the vote.”
Regarding his parliamentary future, Villaverde pointed out the possibility that he may not finally be able to take his seat in the next Senate December 10. She said that for this reason she withdrew her resignation from the position of MP. “It is a purely administrative matter in the process of merging and forming the Commission. I feel that this space was born to break the logic of personal loyalties and return to loyalty to the project, to the republic, to the constitution and to the people. We will not take risks, and here it is not only my bank that is at risk, but rather the most important reforms of recent decades that are at risk. We are against the clock and we will make the decisions that need to be made for that Javier Miley “There can be reforms,” he said.
In this context, he admitted that if his nomination remained blocked, he could take second place on the list of senators. “We are working on the need to address institutional affairs, or if that fails, He will have to assume what he must assume because we will not delay it. For this reason, I withdrew my resignation from the House of Representatives.”He pointed out.
In contrast, Villaverde gave his account of his arrest and conviction in Florida 20 years ago. “It took a long time to go through the court process to prove my innocence because I had nothing to do with it. I was very young in a country I didn’t know. I went to the United States in 1999, I was 24 years old. It was Miami in the ’90s with the police working differently. Today I have no reason. In all cases I was presented to the law, and in all of them I was declared innocent. I was acquitted and found not guilty. “I have absolutely nothing,” the senator-elect insisted.
Although this version, as published nation, Villaverde’s problems with American justice began on July 15, 2002, when she was arrested in Sarasota. They accused her of trafficking more than… 400 grams of cocaine Next to Colombian Fabio Restrepo (then 43 years old) and Cuban Jesus Ferrer (33 years old).
At the time of his arrest, Villaverde was 28 years old and had lived in Miami County since 1999. He worked at a “boutique” called “Berry Fashion” In Miami Beach, he had a Social Security number and was moving on a Florida driver’s license.
The three arrestees faced two federal charges each: sale, distribution or distribution of illegal drugs, and conspiracy between two or more persons to distribute drugs with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
On October 18, 2002, the court ruled Villaverde was found guilty on both charges and He was arrested While awaiting judgment. Days later, Villaverde She requested that she be subjected to a new trial and that her freedom be restored under the title of “clemency.” Meanwhile, his companions pleaded guilty to commute their sentences and served their sentences in prison.
Days later, Villaverde was released from prison and returned to Argentina on an unspecified date. In Rio Negro, his home province, he established close relations with… Claudio Cicarellia cousin and alleged figurehead of Machado.