In the early morning of December 16, 2025, a tragic event shook the Olivos Presidential Estate. A soldier who was fulfilling security functions was found dead in one of the internal posts of the property, which immediately activated the judicial and security protocols and generated commotion in both the military and political spheres.
It was Rodrigo Gómez, a young 21-year-old soldier, originally from the province of Misiones, who was part of the Argentine Army. Specifically, he belonged to the Chacabuco Squadron of the “General San Martín” Horse Grenadier Regiment, a historical unit in charge of presidential custody. Gómez carried out security duties at the Quinta Presidencial de Olivos, the official residence of President Javier Milei, where he carried out surveillance tasks at internal posts on the property.
In the early morning of December 16, 2025, Gómez was found dead by a colleague in one of the Quinta’s internal security posts. According to the first actions and the evidence gathered at the scene, the main hypothesis is that the young soldier had shot himself in the head with his service weapon, a FAL rifle. The episode generated immediate commotion and activated the corresponding security and judicial protocols.
Next to the body was a letter addressed to his comrades and family, in which Gómez referred to a complex personal economic situation. In the letter, he mentioned accumulated debts of nearly 2 million pesos, contracted with banks and other financial entities. His salary was managed by the General Accounting Office of the Army, a fact that once again brought into focus the contrast between his membership in one of the most prestigious units of the Armed Forces and the personal difficulties he was going through.
Federal Judge Sandra Arroyo Salgado, in charge of the Federal Court of San Isidro, heads the investigation of the case. He ordered the intervention of the Homicide Division of the Argentine Federal Police (PFA) and the performance of an autopsy at the Judicial Morgue of the City of Buenos Aires to precisely determine the circumstances of the death. Although the hypothesis of suicide is the predominant one, Justice does not rule out other possibilities and analyzes in detail both the complete content of the letter and possible external factors.
From the Government, the Office of the President released a statement in which it expressed condolences to the family and confirmed that the incident occurred while Gómez was carrying out service duties. There were no impacts on presidential security, although the episode opened debates on social networks about the working, economic and containment conditions of Armed Forces personnel.
His case once again made visible the pressures that soldiers assigned to highly responsible functions can face, in a context crossed by economic and personal difficulties. The investigation remains ongoing and could lead to internal reviews within the Army into the overall well-being of its personnel.
