Argentine prosecutors request 12-year sentence for VP

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Prosecutors are asking a judge to sentence Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernández to 12 years in prison and bar her from holding public office for life for allegedly leading a criminal conspiracy that irregularly awarded public works contracts to a friend and ally. Prosecutor Diego Luciani said in his closing arguments that “we are faced with the biggest corruption maneuver that this country has ever known.” Fernández was president of Argentina from 2007 and 2015, before becoming vice president in 2019. The former president has denied charges against her in the three-year trial and said the judges already have the sentence against her “written and even signed.”