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AMICANA President, Avelino Prieto; Chargé d’Affaires , Thomas Kelly; Federal Police Chief, General Carlos Gorocito; and Amcham President, Alejandro Diaz.
Embassy Event
4TH OF JULY CELEBRATION: THE EMBASSY HONORS THREE OUTSTANDING ARGENTINE CITIZENS
July 3, 2009
Chargé d’Affaires Thomas P. Kelly opened today the Ambassador’s residence to celebrate America’s Independence Day with hundreds of Argentine friends. Mr. Kelly took the opportunity to honor three Argentine citizens working closely with the Embassy to strengthen bilateral relations between Argentina and the United States in many areas of public life.
Honorees were:
• Federal Police Chief Carlos Armando Gorocito, Head of the Argentine Federal Police’s Narcotic Unit.
• Avelino Prieto, President of the U.S.-Argentine Binational Center AMICANA in Mendoza.
• Alejandro Díaz, CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Argentina (AMCHAM).
“Each of these three people we honor today has played a very important role bringing closer together our two nations through their work and achievements in the fight against drug-trafficking, education and exchanges as well as promotion of business interests.” – said Chargé d’Affaires Thomas Kelly.
“These individuals embody the principles that Argentines and Americans share – dedication to the collective good, interest in the broader world around us, and virtue of hard work.” – said Mr. Kelly during the award ceremony and added: “These are three heroes of our bilateral relation.”
Chargé Kelly also spoke about the state of bilateral relations between Argentina and the United States and said: “From the White House to the State Department to the Embassy here in Buenos Aires, we are all committed to working with the government of Argentina. All of us know that Argentina plays a vital role in regional politics and we are looking forward to working together in all future partnerships.”
About honorees:
CARLOS GOROCITO: Federal Police Chief Gorocito has served as the head of the Argentine Federal Police’s narcotic unit for the past five years. His international drug unit jointly worked in many significant drug investigations with the DEA Buenos Aires and other foreign police agencies. Federal Police Chief Gorocito’s unit played a key role in the arrest of many traffickers connected to international drug cartels and the seizure of several tons of narcotics. Federal Police Chief Gorocito is one of our strongest allies in the effort to eliminate drug trafficking, a scourge that threatens both of our societies.
AVELINO PRIETO: Mr. Prieto runs one of the most successful binational centers in Argentina. Thanks to his energy and vision, hundreds of Argentine youth learn about the United States and study English in AMICANA each year. The fact that more than 1,000 young people applied for 90 openings in the Access English-language program speaks to Avelino's ability to promote these programs, which sow the seeds of deep U.S.-Argentine friendship and understanding. Along with reaching out to Argentine young people, Avelino actively supports the work of American Citizen Services in Mendoza. He often publicizes outreach trips by our consular colleagues, providing them a venue to offer consular services to U.S. citizens in western Argentina.
ALEJANDRO DÍAZ: Alejandro is the CEO of AMCHAM Argentina, one of the largest AMCHAMs in Latin America. The organization has more than 770 members, who together employ more than 320,000 Argentines and whose combined earnings represent 19% of Argentina’s GDP. Throughout 2008, under Alejandro’s leadership and guidance, the AMCHAM successfully celebrated its 90th Anniversary with several events and activities that highlighted the productive commercial relationships that have existed between the United States and Argentina for nearly 100 years.
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