Misiones provincial lawmaker Germán Kiczka, who is accused of possessing and distributing images of child sexual abuse, was arrested Wednesday night by local police in Corrientes Province after almost a week on the run.
Corrientes police found him hiding in a cabin in the small town of Loreto, 200 kilometers from Apóstoles, the city where he lives in Misiones.
Argentine authorities had issued an international arrest warrant after he escaped, and Interpol issued an international red alert on Monday. The Misiones government was also offering a AR$5 million reward (US$5,160 at the official rate, US$3,900 at the MEP rate) for information on his whereabouts. His brother Sebastián, who is facing the same charges, remains fugitive.
“Stop this political persecution, this is the picture you wanted!” Kiczka shouted at waiting journalists as he arrived at the police station in Apóstoles in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The Corrientes provincial security ministry transferred Kiczka to the Misiones Police in the early hours of Thursday. Footage showed Kiczka handcuffed, wearing a security helmet and bulletproof vest to protect him from potential attacks.
Kiczka belongs to Activar, a libertarian political party in Misiones province, which is part of ruling coalition La Libertad Avanza (LLA). The Misiones legislature stripped him of his congressional immunity last week following a request by judge Miguel Faría, but he remains a local deputy because his party didn’t accept his offer to give up his seat weeks ago.
According to Misiones Police deputy chief Marcos López, a neighbor told the Corrientes force that Kicza was at the cabin, which was in a campsite owned by Loreto city government. “Apparently, he was renting a room there. Due to the time of the year, there were no other people staying there,” López told the press.
Kiczka was alone and appears to have arrived in his own vehicle, which was found there by police. “He didn’t resist arrest,” López added.
Kiczka was initially thought to have fled the country to Brazil or Paraguay. The judiciary was investigating a WhatsApp voice note in which he allegedly asked someone to prepare him a room at a hotel in Puerto Iguazú, near Argentina’s border with those countries.
Regarding the whereabouts of Germán’s brother, Sebastián, López said they have “several clues” and are working on finding him.
Security Minister Patricia Bullrich celebrated the arrest with a post on her X account. “Pedophile deputy, arrested,” she wrote on Wednesday night. “These mental deviants will pay. Don’t even doubt it.”
The case
The case against Germán and Sebastián Kiczka is part of “Digital Childhood Guardians,” a larger, transnational operation spearheaded by two international NGOs devoted to fighting child trafficking. It also includes several local law enforcement agencies.
In 2020, before going into politics, Germán posted a series of homemade videos on his YouTube channel, called El Show de Magia del Tío Germán (Uncle Germán’s Magic Show) featuring content aimed at children. His brother often appeared on the videos.
The brothers became one of the operation’s targets after a computer crime unit of the Buenos Aires City Prosecutor’s Office, based on information provided by the NGOs, raided their father’s house in February. Investigators found many images of child sexual abuse on one of the computers seized there.
The lawmaker’s house was raided again in early August and police found new material on his devices showing abuse, some of which also depicted bestiality.
Two weeks ago, in an interview with local TV channel Misiones Cuatro, the lawmaker insisted on his innocence and implied his brother was the true culprit.