Man arrested posing as Vatican liaison during Pope Leo XIV Argentina visit
A 25-year-old man was detained near the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires with a fake Vatican access badge and police motorcycle markings.
KEY POINTS
- Tomás Eduardo Natenzon, 25, arrested on November 8, 2026
- Fake Vatican access badge and police-style motorcycle plate seized
- Charges include falsifying a public document and public intimidation
- Home search yielded a 9mm pistol, ammunition, and 43 radios
- Pope Leo XIV held mass in Buenos Aires on November 9
Authorities arrested Tomás Eduardo Natenzon, 25, on Sunday, November 8, 2026, during the security operation for Pope Leo XIV's visit to Argentina. He was intercepted at the intersection of Avenida Del Libertador and John Fitzgerald Kennedy in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires.
Natenzon was riding a Kawasaki motorcycle equipped with police-style beacon lights and a license plate simulating an official vehicle. He wore a handmade identification card around his neck reading "Vatican Liaison Access Level 1" and claimed to be a volunteer firefighter from the Vuelta de Rocha station.
“Vatican Liaison Access Level 1”
Federal Judge María Servini of Federal Court No. 1 ordered his detention on charges of falsifying a public document and public intimidation. Prosecutor Carlos Rívolo is participating in the investigation, and Natenzon was held incommunicado.
A search of his residence uncovered a 9mm pistol, ammunition, forty-three trunking and multi-band radio units, computers, and at least one credential. Investigators said no other arrests related to the papal security operation had been recorded as of the report.
Pope Leo XIV celebrated a mass in front of the Monument to the Spaniards on Monday, November 9. The area near the U.S. Embassy and the event stage remained under strict security deployment during the visit.
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