Schiavi: 'I'm not afraid of going to prison'

Former Transportation Secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi assured that “he is not afraid of going to prison” and denied having any responsibility in the hiring of the company responsible for monitoring the SUBE card system and for causing the Once railway tragedy that left 51 dead and more than 700 injured.

“Regarding the hiring of that British company, I swear I’m clean. I’m not afraid of going to prison, but I’m not acquainted with the judicial process,” he said. 

The former official assured that he had to resign from office because of a “grave medical condition,” and repeated that he had no responsibility in Once railway tragedy.

“The brakes worked that day, it was some other reason” that caused the accident, he said, although he refused to add any additional details because the trial is still ongoing.

“You can’t solve a problem such as the lack of investment, which has been ongoing for many years, in just one day,” he said.

In his second public appearance since he resigned, the former official said the SUBE card is “the most important project in the transportation sector.”