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Former president gets 7 years in prison

A court has sentenced former Argentine President Carlos Menem to seven years in prison for illegally smuggling weapons to Ecuador and Croatia. UPI File Photo
A court has sentenced former Argentine President Carlos Menem to seven years in prison for illegally smuggling weapons to Ecuador and Croatia. UPI File Photo | License Photo

BUENOS AIRES, June 14 (UPI) -- A court has sentenced former Argentine President Carlos Menem to seven years in prison for illegally smuggling weapons to Ecuador and Croatia.

Menem, 82, was convicted of aggravated smuggling earlier this year.

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He authorized illegal weapons sales to the two countries from 1991 to 1995 during his tenure as president.

Although his role as a senator provides him with immunity from going to prison, lawmakers could vote to strip him of the protection, CNN said.

Menem, who served as president from 1989 to 1999, has maintained his innocence.

In 2011, he told judges he only signed decrees to export weapons to Venezuela and Panama.

"From there, all the proceedings that were carried out were out of control of the president," he said.

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