Hotesur-Los Sauces: Key week for setting trial date for Cristina and Máximo Kirchner

Cristina Kirchner and her son Máximo are close to learning how their long-delayed corruption trial will be organized. The case will bring the former Argentine president and her son, a national lawmaker, together in the dock for the first time.

Federal Oral Court 5 has called a hearing for September 4 to decide when and how the public trial over the Hotesur and Los Sauces cases will begin. Prosecutors, private complainants, and defence lawyers are expected to discuss the number of witnesses, the number of hearings each week, and the timetable.

Judicial sources cited by Clarín said the parties had requested about 400 witnesses in total. The court is expected to admit 120 for the Los Sauces file and about 180 for Hotesur, bringing the likely total to around 300.

The trial covers allegations of criminal association and money laundering. Cristina Kirchner also faces an allegation involving gifts. The court, made up of José Michilini, Adriana Palliotti, and Fernando Machado Pelloni, will oversee the proceedings, with prosecutor Diego Velasco taking part.

The Supreme Court rejected the last appeal against the case in December 2024. Since then, Velasco has repeatedly urged the trial court to set a start date. The court has been waiting for an accounting examination of two family-linked companies, requested after petitions by Cristina Kirchner and businessman Lázaro Báez. Velasco argues the trial could begin even before that examination is completed, while his challenge to the court's initial position remains before the Federal Criminal Cassation Court.