President Javier Milei hosted a top US military officer at the Casa Rosada on Tuesday as part of a visit designed to enhance the “strategic partnership” between Washington and Buenos Aires.
Admiral Alvin Holsey, the head of the United States Southern Command, is in Argentina for a three-day visit, according to a statement from the US Embassy in Buenos Aires.
Tuesday’s Casa Rosada meeting, which was also attended by Argentina’s Defence Minister Luis Petri, took place shortly before midday at the Casa Rosada, according to Milei’s office.
Holsey, who arrived in the capital on Monday night, is scheduled to travel on Wednesday to Ushuaia in southern Tierra del Fuego Province, where a new integrated naval base with a deep-water port has been under construction since 2022. The base is intended to serve as a logistical hub for Antarctic operations.
In Ushuaia, Holsey will "engage with local military personnel to gain insights into their missions and the critical role they play in safeguarding maritime routes vital to global commerce," the Embassy said in a statement.
During his meeting with Petri, the US admiral discussed "reinforcing the longstanding military collaboration” between our two nations, “bolstering regional security, and advancing shared interests," it continued.
Last year, the United States announced US$40-million in aid to help finance the modernisation of Argentina’s defence infrastructure — the type of support that has not been extended to the South American nation since 2003.
Argentina’s government has estimated the cost of the new base at around US$300 million and clarified that the integrated naval base in Ushuaia is a project that does not involve granting any special concessions to the United States, despite reports to the contrary.
The new base "is Argentine and is not a joint base," the Cabinet Office clarified in response to a formal inquiry submitted months ago by lawmakers from the lower house Chamber of Deputies.
Holsey’s agenda in Argentina includes, in addition his meetings with President Milei and Minister Petri, discussions with Chief of the Argentine Armed Forces’ Joint Staff General Xavier Isaac and other government officials.
Milei openly expresses ideological affinity with US President Donald Trump, whom he considers a "natural and strategic" ally, despite the Republican’s controversial move to raise tariffs.
On Tuesday evening, the US Embassy in Buenos Aires is due to host a formal dinner in Admiral Holsey’s honour, which President Milei is expected to attend, according to local media reports.
– TIMES/AFP
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