The landing of a United States military plane in Ushuaia confirms Trump’s interest in southern Argentina

A military plane landed this Sunday in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in Argentina and in the world. The arrival generated suspicions and was even defined as “mysterious” by local authorities in the province of Tierra del Fuego. Last week, the Government of that city, until then administered by the province. Since that moment, the opposition accuses the ultra president of having agreed to concessions to US interests in the region, within the framework of Milei’s unconditional alignment with Donald Trump and the Republican’s aspirations.

Suspicions surrounding the arrival of the US Air Force Boeing 737 were fueled by the absence of official information. The Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not provide any formal communication and the Fuegian government – ​​headed by Gustavo Melella, a declared opponent of Milei – claimed to lack data on the arrival and agenda of activities of the US representatives.

The first official data was provided this Monday by the US Embassy in the country. In , he noted: “A bipartisan delegation of members of the Energy and Commerce Committee of the US House of Representatives visits Argentina.” He added: “The visit includes meetings with government officials and key actors to address the degradation of natural environments, the processing of permits for mine and waste management, the processing of critical minerals, public health research and medical security.”

Ushuaia is located 3,000 kilometers from Buenos Aires, on the southern edge of Patagonia. It is for international naval connectivity, in particular as access to Antarctica and as a gateway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

“The visit of the plane from the United States generated a lot of insecurity and also many questions. We do not have concrete information about the delegation that came,” he declared this Monday to Radio 10 Emiliano Fossatto, Legal and Technical Secretary of Tierra del Fuego. The senior provincial official described the arrival of the Boeing as “mysterious” and assured that the government would request clarifications from the national Foreign Ministry.

With similar objectives, Peronist senator Cristina López presented a request for reports to the Executive, through the national Congress. “We ask for explanations for the arrival of a US military plane to Ushuaia,” he announced on his social networks. “Tierra del Fuego is not a foreign military base,” he added. “We demand information, transparency and respect for sovereignty.”

Milei’s geopolitical alignment with Trump and US interests in the southern region of Argentina are explicit. In April 2024, Milei met in Ushuaia with the then head of the US Southern Command, Laura Richardson, and announced that the naval base that the South American country was building there would become . Richardson’s successor as head of the Southern Command, Alvin Holsey, visited Argentina twice in 2025 — meeting with Milei included. Both Richardson and Hosley used their time in the country to question China’s growing influence in the region. Last year, Milei authorized by decree the entry of US troops into the country to carry out activities in Ushuaia and other regions.

Thanks to this alignment, Milei has already obtained one from the IMF last April, another from the US Treasury last September. Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury, praised Milei without nuance this Sunday and assured: “Argentina has become the centerpiece of the United States strategy for Latin America.”