Argentina mafia members arrested after Congress shooting

Argentina mafia members arrested after Congress shooting
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By Reuters
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BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine authorities have arrested members of mafia gang after a rare gun attack outside Congress in Buenos Aires left one official dead and a senior lawmaker fighting for his life.

The country's security minister Patricia Bullrich said on Friday that all members of the group had been detained, including one who had fled across the border to Uruguay.

On Thursday, two attackers shot Congressman Hector Olivares and an official Miguel Yadon. Yadon died at the scene and Olivares was in "serious condition" after undergoing surgery at a Buenos Aires hospital.

The unusual attack at the heart of Buenos Aires had rattled the city, sparking anxiety about possible political motivations. Local officials and media, however, suggested the issue was more personal and that the gang had targeted Yadon specifically.

Surveillance video of the attack appeared to show Yadon and Olivares fall to the ground after being shot. In the video, two people emerge from a nearby parked car and stay for a few moments at the scene before driving away.

Bullrich said in comments on Twitter that one suspect thought to be one of the authors of the attack had been arrested trying to escape the country, while another had been caught with the help of Interpol in Uruguay.

The gang "has been detained, including the second one in the car, one of the two murders of Yadon and the one who seriously wounded deputy Olivares," she wrote.

Bullrich has said previously that the shooting was premeditated, but that the motive, and whether it was political or personal, was still unknown and being investigated.

(Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Alistair Bell)

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