Nearly a decade after the implosion that claimed the lives of 44 crew members, four former Argentine Navy chiefs are in the dock. Amid allegations of poor maintenance and operational negligence, the Río Gallegos Court seeks to determine criminal responsibility for one of the country's worst naval disasters.

On November 15, 2017, the Argentine Sea swallowed the ARA San Juan submarine. For a year, uncertainty gripped the country until, in 2018, its remains were found at a depth of 900 meters. Today, in March 2026, justice is finally attempting to provide answers to the families who never stopped demanding answers.

The dock

The Federal Oral Court of Río Gallegos began the trial against four senior officers who, at the time of the accident, held key roles in the chain of command:

The charges are serious: breach of the duties of a public official, omission of official duties and negligent destruction aggravated by the result of death .

A ship "sent to sacrifice"

The accusation from the Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF), represented by prosecutors Zárate, Colla, Franco Pruzan and Garmendia Orueta , is conclusive: the submarine was not in a condition to sail.

According to the indictment, the ARA San Juan was in a poor state of maintenance and had exceeded the regulatory interval for dry docking by 26 months . Prosecutors maintain that the defendants were aware of the deficiencies—including similar incidents in July 2017—and yet ordered the patrol mission.

"The permitted risk was raised and the inherent risk of underwater activity was unduly increased ," the prosecutor's opinion states.

The pain of the families and the political absence

Despite the start of the trial, the atmosphere among the plaintiffs is one of skepticism. Lawyer Luis Tagliapietra , father of one of the 44, lamented the distance of the trial venue (2,500 km from Buenos Aires) and the lack of expert analysis of the remains found.

Furthermore, there is continued discontent over the lack of direct political accountability in this trial, following the confirmation of the dismissals of former President Mauricio Macri and former intelligence chiefs in parallel cases related to spying on family members.

Chronology of a Foretold Implosion

The trial that begins today seeks not only punishment, but also the technical truth about why 44 marines were sent on a mission in a unit that, according to the prosecution, had its systems "degraded and out of service".