Embattled chief of Argentine Army resigns

BUENOS AIRES, June 24 (UPI) -- Argentina's embattled Army chief, Maj. Gen. Cesar Milani, announced his resignation for "strictly" personal reasons in a statement Tuesday.

A three-line press release from the Army informed the media of Milani's resignation.

The 60-year-old general has been accused of human rights violations and of helping President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner – who named him head of the Army in July 2013 -- by assembling an organization of spies that targeted her political opponents.

Immediately following Milani's resignation, second-in-command Division Gen. Gustavo Motta will lead the Army. In the coming days, Division Gen. Ricardo Luis Cundom will assume the leadership.

Milani stands accused of playing a role in the 1976 disappearance of soldier Alberto Ledo in the northern Argentine province of Tucumán. Additionally, he's charged with torturing two members of Ledo's family in the northeastern province of La Rioja the following year.

Milani has denied the allegations – which have yet to be tried in court – despite the surfacing of witnesses in May who attest to his role.

Argentine journalist Jorge Lanata reported that Milani's personal income was misleading on his evening television show, Periodismo para Todos. Despite an annual salary of 14,000 Argentine pesos, Milani reported the purchase of a home in the affluent neighborhood of San Ysidro for 1.5 million pesos. The market value of the home, a mansion with custom landscaping work, is 2.6 million pesos.