In the last hours, shortly before the Day of the Veteran and the Fallen in the Malvinas War is commemorated, Ricardo Akins (64), a former combatant, was murdered by a shot to the head while carrying out custodial work with another person, who was injured in the arm. After the fact became known, a video resurfaced where the veteran told his story and his participation in “Operation Rosario”, in which the Argentine forces took the Royal Marines barracks and raised the Argentine flag on the islands.
The victim was part of the Amphibious Commando Group, with which he served in the Malvinas War, and was class 46 of the School of Non-Commissioned Officers of the Marine Infantry (ESIM). “The one who took the English prisoners, took the Royal Marines barracks and raised the Argentine Flag in the Malvinas. Amphibious Commando Ricardo Rubén Akins, proud of you old man,” his son, Brian, had written on April 1, 2020, in the publication accompanying Akins’ filming.
Crime in Lanús: a former Malvinas combatant was murdered with a shot to the head
In the recording, the veteran wears his uniform and recalled that he joined the Argentine Navy in 1977. “I quickly graduated in ’79 and after a year in the Marine Corps I went to take the special forces course, which is a commando course. ”, he indicated. In addition, he took different courses taught by the Marine Corps and the Armed Forces, as well as training as a diver, climber, skier, blasting and different combat techniques. As he explained, Its objective was “to acquire special command aptitude”which he achieved without delay.
That way, In 1982 he was part of a call “to fulfill a mission in the south of our country”. “At that time we did not know where we were going, but we did know that it was a real mission. For this purpose, we were in our natural seat, which was the Mar del Plata Naval Base,” he highlighted.
For this reason, in the week of March 26 they headed towards “Puerto Belgrano and on the 28th we embarked on the Santísima Trinidad. And from that moment on we were already on board the Santísima Trinidad ships and on the High Seas; only then did they notify us of the mission that we were going to carry out the amphibious commandos. We were 97 commandos and we had added six tactical divers who also participated in the operation called Rosario”, he detailed.
According to official information, “on the night of April 1 around 9:00 p.m., The amphibious commando group begins the landing from the destroyer ARA ‘Santísima Trinidad, reaching the coast at 11:45 p.m.”. Within that group was Akins, who explained that on the ship they received the operations order and prepared the boats, weapons and equipment. “I remember that my boss was Bernardo Schweizer, who had chosen a group of commandos to go as the infantry point, which was the ones who were going to prepare the entire eastern movement in the landing area on the beach,” he highlighted.
Once they arrived at the site, the ex-combatant said that They had radio electronic silence until 04:00, so they could not carry out any type of communication. “The group of commandos was divided into two patrols in which one went with Giachino and the other went with the commander, who was Sánchez Álvaro, and the unit manager, who was Major Rodríguez,” he said.
Video: a retired Federal police officer killed a 20-year-old young man who tried to rob him in Avellaneda
“I participated in the recovery of the Royal Marines barracks and later after 04:00 the radio circuit was opened and there we were able to communicate with the other patrol which was that of Captain Giachino, and we could see that they had already started the war actions in which he had been wounded in an entry action to the governor’s house, which was his mission,” he said.
“Quickly we after raising the first flag there at the Royal Marines barracks, lower that of the English and raise our flag; We did a small regrouping of the people and went to provide support to our patrol that was in full combat,” he added.
After an intense early morning with “skirmishes”, where they had to overcome an English ambush, Akins and his companions were “capturing” enemies “with small patrols”, until they managed to “take the English as prisoners” and, subsequently, the surrender of those British troops. “Approximately 09:10, it ended with the surrender of Malvinas by Governor Rex Hans. This was a brief story that I wanted to tell you without too much time,” concluded the ex-combatant.
The crime of the former Malvinas combatant
The tragic event took place this Saturday afternoon in the Buenos Aires town of Lanús, as confirmed by the Buenos Aires Minister of Security, Javier Alonso. Akins was next to Osvaldo Guzmán (49) carrying out private custody of the home of a 77-year-old woman, located at the intersection of Arturo Illia and Ferre streets.
The sequence of the crime, which was recorded by security cameras, began with the two criminals approaching for the purpose of robbery. When the two guards were unloading objects from a black Volkswagen Amarok van, the assailants approached them and a struggle occurred between Guzmán and one of the thieves, while The second shot the ex-combatant in the head, causing his death instantly.
According to witness accounts, the assailants fled the crime scene after stealing the war veteran’s weapon. For its part, Guzmán, who was shot in the arm, had to be transferred to the Lanús Neighborhood Hospital, where he remains hospitalized out of danger. Both the arrival and escape of the perpetrators were also filmed.
After calling 911, they arrived at the scene. members of the Lanús 2nd police station. with him Tactical Operations Group (GTO) from Lanús and a team from the Scientific police. The case was left in the hands of the Functional Instruction Unit (UFI) number 6, in charge of Martin Darío Rodríguezfrom the Avellaneda-Lanús Judicial Department.
The officers began the investigation and mounted an operation that allowed arrest the first suspectwho entered the Iriarte Hospital in Quilmes with a gunshot wound and whose characteristics coincide with those provided in Guzmán’s testimony. In parallel, efforts are being made to find the whereabouts of the second person involved.
From the Monitoring Center of the Municipal Security Secretariat, they managed to identify the vehicle in which the criminals escaped. In addition, the prosecutor ordered the search of the home of the owner of the vehicle, which has a criminal recordas well as his arrest warrant.
MB / ED