“It’s been 27 years, and I think it’s time for the truth to come out.”

Zulema Yoma is talking to the camera about the death of her only son, Carlitos Menem Jr., a 27-year-old race car pilot who died on March 15, 1995 when the helicopter he was flying crashed in a field near Ramallo, Buenos Aires Province.

The ex-wife of late Argentine President Carlos Saúl Menem, Zulema is one of the protagonists of Menem Junior: The Death of the President’s Son, a documentary series by HBO’s recently-relaunched Max streaming platform.

Officially, Carlitos’s death was an accident caused by his reckless flying. But unofficially, the rumor mill claims it was nothing less than the third terrorist attack in Argentina.

That day, Carlitos was flying to Rosario with his friend and fellow racer Silvio Oltra, when his Bell helicopter hit power cables and crashed violently into a field. Initial reports said he was flying too low, playing around with two young women on the ground who were driving a car on the road.

Still a hugely popular politician after stabilizing the economy after the hyperinflation of the late 1980s, Carlos Menem pulled through the grief, ran for reelection that year, and won by a wide margin. He went on to serve a second term, despite presiding over an administration rife with corruption scandals involving kickbacks, misuse of state funds, international money laundering, and even arms........

© Buenos Aires Herald