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The Scandal over arms sales to Ecuador and Croatia took place during Carlos Menem's first term (1989–1995) and would have been illegal because then UN enforced an embargo on the former Yugoslavia. ==History== The sale of weapons to Ecuador took place in the midst of armed conflict with Peru. The scandal was very important in Argentina because they were among the four official guarantors of peace of the Treaty of Rio de Janeiro, which breached its international commitment and missed with its obligations under international law, and in Peru also, since it damaged the long friendship between the two countries, that was highly boosted during the 1982 Falklands War, when Peru sent weapons, fighter planes and soldiers to help Argentina against Great Britain. Shipments to Croatia began in 1991, to do this President Menem signed two secret decrees, endorsed by several ministers, and continued from 1993 until 1995, when Menem affixed his signature to a third secret decree for the same purpose. According to these two decrees of 1991 weapons were destined for Panama and as the third in 1995, to Venezuela. None of these countries had ordered weapons from Argentina before, at that time Panama also lacked a proper army after the 1989 United States invasion of Panama. Most of the weapons were diverted to Croatia which in the middle of the war in Yugoslavia, needed weapons, and the rest to Ecuador in 1995. Seven shipments where made by sea to Croatia, the first one in 1991 with military equipment produced by the Dirección General de Fabricaciones Militares (Government military Industries), the six other shipments contained weapons from regular army units like 155 mm cannons, and cannon powder, Italian Oto Melara mortars. FM offered the weapons used and refurbished, and Croatia accepted them. It was estimated that a total of 6,500 tons of trafficked weapons and ammunition where smuggled. The weapons were built by FM, some army serial number and Argentine coats of arms were removed from cannons and weapons in the military factory in Rio Tercero that later exploded in a sabotage action created to remove evidences that destroyed half the city causing several deaths. Most of the witnesses in the trial of the explosion have died in bizarre accidents. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Scandal over Argentine arms sales to Ecuador and Croatia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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