Argentina steps up hunt for former spy; condemns U.S. inaction

BUENOS AIRES, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Argentina is increasing efforts to locate Antonio Stiuso, a fugitive former spy, as the government of the South American country criticizes the United States for inaction over the search.

Stiuso, a former operations chief of Argentina's disbanded Intelligence Secretariat, fled Argentina following the death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman in January.

Nisman had accused President Cristina Kirchner of a coverup related to the 1994 bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina Jewish center in which 85 people died.

Argentina's government said Nisman's accusations and death were linked to a power struggle in the intelligence agency. Kirchner accused Stiuso of managing Nisman's death in attempts to incriminate her and destabilize her government.

Nisman was found dead Jan. 18 by his mother. He was scheduled to appear in a congressional committee hearing the next day to present a criminal complaint against Kirchner. Stiuso disappeared shortly after testifying at a judicial inquiry into Nisman's death.

Anibal Fernández, Argentina's Cabinet chief of staff, said the United States failed to respond to eight requests for details on the whereabouts of Stiuso, who reportedly fled to Miami.

"We ask ourselves sometimes: 'Is the United States ready to allow the bilateral relations between it and Argentina to worsen for a man they all say has no importance, no strategic value for the United States?'" Fernández told reporters.

Kirchner alluded to Stiuso and the United States' role in her address to the United Nations General Assembly this week.

"I would say that he is being protected. Protected from what? I don't know," Kirchner said.

Interpol recently issued a "blue notice" for Stiuso, which is not an arrest warrant but a request for international authorities to collect "information about a person's identity, location or activities in relation to a crime."