A speech by U.S. President Barak Obama in 2012, confirms that Nancy Soderberg, co-chair of the American Task Force Argentina (ATFA), is indeed an advisor to the U.S. government.
Soderberg was appointed to the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) in early 2012 by President Barack Obama, who said at the time, “I am honored that these talented individuals have decided to join this Administration and serve our country. I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.” She was subsequently re-appointed as Chairperson in November 2012.
On Friday, Argentine president Cristina Fernandez sent a letter to Obama asking for clarification if the Nancy Soderberg appointed as Chairperson of the Public Interest Declassification Board, is the same Nancy Soderberg who is lobbying against Argentina's efforts to restructure its debts. As Fernandez states in the letter, the ATFA is “an entity specifically created to attack and slander the Argentine Republic and its President.”
U.S. officials claimed that Soderberg is merely a member of a committee created by the U.S. Congress and does not work for the Executive Branch of the U.S. government. Nevertheless, according to the PIDB website, the Declassification Board was indeed created by Congress to advise the president and other executive branch officials on matters of national security.
The ATFA has engaged in an intense and defamatory lobbying campaign in an attempt to sway public opinion in favor of “vulture funds” that are attempting to extract billions out of Argentina, despite never having actually loaned any money to the country.
The revelation that a person tied to the “vulture funds” is advising the U.S. President on national security matters threatens to damage already-strained relations between the United States and Argentina.