Argentina’s Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the fraud conviction of former president Cristina Kirchner, confirming her six-year prison sentence and a lifetime ban from holding public office.

The decision finalizes the case and effectively ends the political career of one of the country’s most polarizing figures.

In its ruling, the court stated that the verdicts from previous courts were “based on the abundance of evidence produced” and dismissed Kirchner’s request to appeal. The ruling makes her conviction legally binding, with no further recourse.

Kirchner, 72, now has five days to present herself to authorities. However, due to her age, she may request house arrest instead of serving time in prison.

Kirchner denounces ruling, Milei welcomes

Addressing supporters outside the Justicialist Party headquarters, Kirchner condemned the court’s decision, referring to the judges as “puppets acting on orders from above,” a veiled reference to the current administration of President Javier Milei.

She denounced the Supreme Court’s decision as a “slamming of the people’s will.” She also labeled the outcome “a badge of political, personal and historical dignity,” asserting that the sentence had been predetermined.

Following the announcement, demonstrators took to the streets in several cities, burning tires and blocking roads leading into Buenos Aires.

Meanwhile, Milei, Kirchner’s long-time political adversary, praised the ruling on social media with a brief post, “Justice. End.”

Leaders condemn court ruling

International allies, including former presidents Rafael Correa and Evo Morales, condemned the ruling as lawfare, while Cuba’s Miguel Diaz-Canel denounced the decision as political retaliation.

On its part, Venezuela denounced what it called "the political and judicial coup" against Kirchner, who "today is the victim of a brutal persecution driven by a judiciary subordinated to the authoritarian project of Javier Milei."

"This illegitimate and illegal ruling seeks to forcibly disqualify the person who represents the political and emotional heart of millions of Argentine women and men," Caracas pointed out in a statement.

"This is not about justice; it is about erasing the adversary through colonial methods, imposing by blood and fire an economic and social model designed to subject Argentina to international financial capital," the statement warned.

Venezuela emphasized that the latest ruling "is not an isolated event. It is part of a single geopolitical coup against Latin America."

Read more: Argentine court issues arrest warrant for Venezuela's Maduro

Kirchner's planned political return thwarted

Kirchner had intended to run for a seat in the Buenos Aires provincial legislature in the upcoming September elections. A win would have granted her parliamentary immunity, shielding her from prosecution. The Supreme Court’s decision blocks that path.

Kirchner was convicted in 2022 of fraudulent administration during her 2007–2015 presidency. The charges stemmed from public works contracts awarded to a close associate in Patagonia, her political stronghold. A lower appellate court upheld the sentence earlier in 2024.

Previous assassination attempt, US ban

The legal case adds to a series of recent crises for Kirchner. In 2022, she survived an attempted assassination when a gun failed to discharge at point-blank range. In March 2025, the United States barred her and a former minister from entering the country over corruption allegations.

Kirchner remains the second Argentine president to be sentenced to prison since the end of the military dictatorship in 1983. Like Carlos Menem before her, she may never serve time in a conventional prison.

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