Argentine official toppled over warship fiasco

BUENOS AIRES - Argentine Military Intelligence Chief Lourdes Puente Olivera has stepped down due to the detention of an Argentine warship by Ghana, official sources said Thursday.

The sources, who requested anonymity, said Puente's decision "was due to investigations into the Defense sector" after officials failed to foresee the possibility that the frigate Libertad would be seized if it docked in Ghana.

Seized at the eastern Tema Port on Oct 2, the naval school ship was on a "good-will mission" with 220 crew-members and 110 students aboard. Some students came from Argentina's Naval Military School and others were from Uruguay and Chile.

Puente was the fourth high-level official to step down or be discharged over the warship fiasco. Earlier this week, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez replaced the Navy's Chief of Staff and two other top naval officials.

Appointed in March 2011, Puente was the first woman to head the National Office of Military Intelligence Strategy (Diniem), a department responsible for "permanently providing strategic intelligence for the military regarding foreign threats".

The move to embargo the ship was sparked by a claim by creditor NML Capital Limited, part of a so-called "vulture fund", which is suing Argentina over its 2002 bond default.

A Ghanaian judge later refused Argentina's request to release the warship, as the South American country refused to pay $20 million as bail to free the ship and its crew.