BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina said on Thursday the U.S. government pulled a "dirty trick" by accusing Venezuela of trying to smuggle $800,000 into Argentina to fund the former first lady's successful campaign for president.
U.S. authorities arrested three Venezuelans and an Uruguayan they accused of trying to cover up a scandal set off in August when a Venezuelan-American businessman tried to enter Argentina with a suitcase full of undeclared cash.
Argentine customs agents seized the money and let Guido Antonini Wilson, a U.S. and Venezuelan citizen, go, but an FBI affidavit said Venezuelan agents met him after he returned home to Florida to pressure him to conceal Caracas's role.
Argentine Justice Minister Anibal Fernandez said the U.S. probe was aimed at "smearing" President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, an ally of Venezuela's leftist leader Hugo Chavez.
He spoke a day after Venezuela denounced the arrests as a U.S. plot intended to damage its relations with Argentina.
"This looks like a phenomenal dirty trick," Anibal Fernandez said. "This is not innocent, it is aimed at smearing the Argentine government or the presence of Chavez in Argentina."
Chavez attended President Fernandez's inauguration on Monday. Argentina has close ties with Chavez, a fierce U.S. critic, and oil-rich Venezuela has invested heavily in Argentine government bonds.
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