Argentine president seeks intel service overhaul after mysterious death

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- President Cristina Fernandez called on Congress to dissolve Argentina's intelligence services in the wake of the mysterious death of a prosecutor, strongly denying his accusation that she had sought to shield former Iranian officials suspected in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center.

She did not say who might have killed Alberto Nisman, but in recent letters posted on social media she suggested that rogue intelligence agents may have orchestrated the death in a plot against her government.

Her nationally televised address late Monday was the first since Nisman was found dead hours before he was to give potentially explosive testimony on the alleged cover-up.

She provided no new details of the alleged plot within the intelligence agencies she oversees, and the speech was immediately criticized by opposition parties and Jewish community leaders.

"The Intelligence Department is not going to change with a modification of its name," said Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri, a leading possible presidential contender for October elections. He said Fernandez's speech did nothing to clear up what happened to Nisman.

Fernandez said she would give lawmakers her proposal for a new spy agency by the end of the week.

She noted that the structure of the clandestine service had remained largely intact as Argentina returned to democracy in 1983 after years of a brutal military dictatorship.

While government officials had previously labeled Nisman's allegations as absurd, Monday's speech was the first time Fernandez had taken them on directly.

"It's unreasonable to think our government could even be suspected of such a maneuver," said Fernandez, who spoke while sitting in a wheelchair because of a fractured ankle.

Nisman, 51, was found dead Jan. 18 in the bathroom in his apartment, a bullet in his right temple. A .22 caliber gun was found next to him. His death came days after he gave a judge a report alleging Fernandez secretly reached a deal to prevent prosecution of former Iranian officials accused of involvement in the 1994 bombing of Argentina's largest Jewish center, which killed 85 people.

The deal allegedly was in exchange for economic and trade benefits with Iran. Iran has denied the accusation.

Nisman's death has produced anti-government protests and a myriad of conspiracy theories, ranging from suicide to the involvement of Iranian intelligence agents.

"That's another unanswered question which is, who will take up the mantle for Alberto Nisman?" said CBS News senior national security analyst Juan Zarate. "In many ways he was a singular figure in Argentina in prosecuting these cases."

Appearing rested and calm, Fernandez began with a spirited defense of her government's efforts to solve the 1994 case, but lamented that more than 20 years later nobody had been convicted.

She noted that her predecessor, husband and former President Nestor Kirchner, had appointed Nisman to the case after years of paralysis.

She said a 2013 memorandum of understanding with Iran, which many in the country have bitterly criticized, was aimed at obtaining cooperation with the Middle Eastern powerhouse to finally seek justice for the bombing.

Fernandez, 61, said that only a few in government would have access to the heads of the new "Federal Intelligence Agency," apparently a critique of a system where many in Congress have contact with intelligence officials.

In her two letters the last week, Fernandez suggested Nisman's death was a plot against her government possibly orchestrated by intelligence services, which had fed false information to Nisman.

In her first letter, published Jan. 19, she suggested that Nisman committed suicide. Three days later, however, she did an about-face, suggesting that he had been killed.

Without directly accusing him of wrongdoing, in her speech Fernandez mentioned the man who said he had loaned Nisman a gun because the prosecutor said he feared for his safety.

Fernandez said social media posts showed that Diego Lagomarsino was a "fierce opponent of the government" and alleged that he is the brother of a top executive with connections to Grupo Clarin, a news conglomerate that has often been at odds with Fernandez.

In a statement, Grupo Clarin said it had no connection to the brother.

Employing the fiery rhetoric she is known for, Fernandez insisted: "I will not be extorted, I am not afraid" of being cited by judges or denounced by investigators.

"They will not make me move even a centimeter from what I have always thought," she added.

Jorge Knoblovits, secretary general of the Delegation of Israeli-Argentine Associations, said Fernandez's speech fell flat.

The president should have "lamented the prosecutor's loss of life, given condolences to his family," he said. "To deviate to the issue of Lagomarsino is regrettable."