Our woman in Buenos Aires

Our woman in Buenos Aires

How did 60 Minutes get interviews in Argentina with some of the biggest players involved in the mystery surrounding prosecutor Alberto Nisman's death?

Nieves Zuberbuhler CBS News

Look no further than the desk of Nieves Zuberbuhler--a native Argentine with a knack for negotiating. Zuberbuhler arrived in New York four years ago to study at NYU, and she found her way to 60 Minutes through an internship. She currently works at the broadcast in an entry level position, as a broadcast associate.

She got her chance to break out in a big way when producer Shachar Bar-On and correspondent Lesley Stahl were assigned a story to be reported in Buenos Aires, Zuberbuhler's hometown. At first, Bar-On thought she could offer minimal help, perhaps with Spanish translations or some preliminary research.

But Zuberbuhler quickly became "indispensable" to the reporting, says correspondent Lesley Stahl, making calls to key players in the case and negotiating access to the most closely guarded locations in the story.

"You would see her yelling in Spanish on the phone," Bar-On says. "I thought she was fighting with her mother or something....She's like, 'No, that's how we do it in Argentina.'"

Within two days, Zuberbuhler had secured several interviews, including one with Hector Timerman, Argentina's foreign minister and one with Diego Lagomarsino, the man who loaned Nisman a gun the night before his death.

Zuberbuhler also traveled with the 60 Minutes team to Buenos Aires, where she translated interviews and persuaded authorities to open doors to two evidence rooms-- a place no other news team had filmed.

At one point, while shooting at the gravesite of Nisman, four police officers showed up, threatening to arrest the 60 Minutes cameraman. Bar-On says he was prepared to quickly pack up the crew and leave until Zuberbuhler stepped in and began to passionately argue with the police officers.

"I think her inexperience in the field helped her tremendously because all the things you learn to do, she kind of threw out the window and she just did her own thing-- and it worked."

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