Richardson met with Argentine Defense Minister Jorge Taiana. Author: Taken from twitter
BUENOS AIRES, 18 April. US Southern Command Chief Laura Richardson is making her second visit to the country, which began on Monday when she met with Secretary of Defense Jorge Taiana.
His visit comes amid concern from observers and a large part of the public following statements made by the US military a few months ago about the importance given to the region by the presence of minerals such as lithium; especially to the “triangle” that includes Argentina, Bolivia and Chile.
As Argentine Defense Minister Jorge Taiana posted on Twitter, during the dialogue with Richardson, they talked “about various issues in the field of defense.” Current bilateral agreements, the hierarchy of the armed forces, military equipment and the strategic priority that Argentina assigns to the South Atlantic,” he wrote.
Richardson also met during the day with the head of the Joint Command of the Argentine Armed Forces, General Juan Martin Paleo.
In an article published on Tuesday, the Argentine newspaper Página 12 said that “the pressure from the United States government on the government led by Alberto Fernandez remains constant.”
“The goal, according to him, is to stop all investment from China into Argentine territory, and officials from the Joe Biden government continue to arrive in this sense. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman was there last week, and now it is the turn of the head of the Southern Command (…).”
According to the newspaper, a senior administration official pointed out that “Argentina is a strategic and contentious place for the two major powers at the moment – meaning China and the United States – and for this reason they are constantly in tension (…)”.
Richardson’s presence in Buenos Aires was rejected by a march called by the Encuentro Patriótico and Bloque Social por el Trabajo groups, who also rejected the International Monetary Fund’s intervention in the country, after a new inspection by the institution of compliance with the targets agreed with Argentina.
The mobilization started from the Department of Social Development and reached the headquarters of the Department of Defense, chanting slogans such as Homeland Yes, Colony No, and Yankee Out of Argentina.
The attendees also issued a statement condemning the United States’ “neo-colonialist strategy of appropriating the common good of our Great Motherland by placing it at the service of its supply chains and stopping their collapse,” PL reported.
Speaking to local radio, Alejandro Garfagnini, a member of the public organization Túpac Amaru, criticized the visit of Richardson and other officials such as Wendy Sherman, which he considered part of a strategy to remove lithium and gas from Argentina.
We are not used to American tutelage, and we expressed it in the march,” he said, as reflected in the office.
Laura Richardson was already in Argentina last April.
Source: Juventud Rebelde