Argentina's Peronist opposition has criticised a visit by US lawmakers to the country’s southernmost city of Ushuaia, warning it could be a sign of Washington's potential geostrategic interest in the region.
The unannounced arrival of a US government aircraft in the capital of Tierra del Fuego Province fuelled reports that President Javier Milei, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, is seeking to establish a joint naval base in the area with the United States.
Ushuaia is a major tourist hub but also of strategic importance, due to its proximity to the Antarctic.
In midweek it emerged that two US Congress delegations arrived last Tuesday aboard Clipper military aircraft in a day marked by political clashes and a secretive government while the government maintained its strong rhetorical alignment with Washington. One of the delegations landed in Neuquén after a prior stop in Tierra del Fuego questioned by Kirchnerism while the other arrived at Aeroparque early Tuesday afternoon
The first flight was transporting a bipartisan delegation of members of the Energy and Commerce Committee of the House of Representatives whose surprise arrival in Ushuaia proved controversial coming just a couple of days after the national government slapped a trusteeship on the provincial capital’s port, removing the local authorities and dismissing dozens of workers.
The US Embassy in Buenos Aires confirmed the plane was carrying a bipartisan delegation from the House Committee on Energy and Commerce but did not name the members.
According to local media, the Congress members travelled aboard a US Air Force Boeing C-40 Clipper.
The aircraft reportedly departed from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and made stops in Puerto Rico and Buenos Aires before touching down in Argentina’s south.
The mission “includes meetings with government officials and key stakeholders to address the degradation of natural environments, permitting processes for the management of mines and waste, the processing of critical minerals, public health research and medical security,” the US Embassy said.
Second delegation
In parallel, another delegation arrived from the United States consisting of members of the Education and Workforce Committee of the House of Representatives, headed by Tim Walberg (Republican-Michigan).
Due to an accelerated escalation of conjectures and questions, Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno decided to explain via the social networks.
In his X account, responding to a user showing a map of where the aircraft was identified, Quirno explained: “It is a bipartisan delegation of the Education and Workforce Committee of the US House of Representatives on a visit to Argentina,” adding: “Given the interest taken by the world in the Argentine government’s plans and, in this case, the strategic relationship between Argentina and the United States, we celebrate the visits of different committees interested in our country.”
The Foreign Ministry, however, avoided any details about the identity of the passengers on both flights. Quirno explained why these visits were not announced in advance.
“The pertinent authorities had been informed and the committees announced by their own country,” he maintained.
Emiliano Fossatto, legal secretary of Tierra del Fuego Province, which is governed by the Peronist opposition, told the Radio 10 station that the visit generated substantial "uncertainty" and that there had been no prior or subsequent communication with local authorities.
“The geolocation of the Port of Ushuaia is significant; it's the gateway to Antarctica... a commercial and tourist waterway, so there may certainly be other motives" behind the visit, Fossatto speculated.
Peronist Senator Cándida Cristina López, another opponent of Milei, demanded explanations from the government over the delegation's arrival in a post on X. The opposition lawmaker directly linked the visit to the theory of the creation of a joint Argentina-US naval base.
"Tierra del Fuego is not a foreign military base," she declared.
Milei, in power since December 2023, has already received two heads of the US Southern Command in Ushuaia: Laura Richardson in 2024 and Alvin Holsey last year.
Both visited the Integrated Naval Base project, which Argentina has been building since 2022.
Argentina says the Ushuaia base will “centralise Antarctic logistics and maritime traffic control.” Although the project is far from completion due to a lack of funds, it has aroused Washington's recurring interest.
However, Milei's government has denied that Washington is involved in the conception of the base and rebuffed claims it would be jointly operated.
Richardson also visited Argentina during the presidency of Milei's predecessor, Alberto Fernández.
– TIMES/AFP/PERFIL
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