An Argentine federal court has convicted former submarine force commander Claudio Villamide of aggravated negligent destruction and dereliction of duty over the 2017 sinking of the ARA San Juan, sentencing him to a three-year suspended prison term. The ruling was delivered on July 8, 2026 by a tribunal in Santa Cruz province.
Three other defendants — Rear Admiral Luis López Mazzeo, Captain Héctor Alonso, and Commander Hugo Correa — were acquitted of all charges related to the disaster.
The ARA San Juan vanished in the South Atlantic on November 15, 2017, killing all 44 crew members aboard. The case marked the first criminal verdict stemming from one of the deadliest peacetime naval disasters in Argentina's history.