The left-wing governments of Chile and the libertarian governments of Argentina were surprised this Monday (17), after the Chilean president, Gabriel Boric, gave an ultimatum regarding an issue that Buenos Aires considered resolved.
According to information from the Clarín newspaper, in a brief interview with Chilean journalists during his visit to President Emmanuel Macron in France, Boric made comments about an episode on the border in the extreme south of the two countries: the Argentine Navy mistakenly installed solar panels in Chilean territory to supply energy to a detachment.
“I would like to tell them very clearly that borders are not something you can be ambiguous about, it is a basic thing of respect between countries and that therefore they must remove these solar panels as quickly as possible or we will do it ourselves ”, said the president of Chile.
Boric’s statement generated discomfort in Javier Milei’s government because it had already committed to removing the panels. On Friday (14), the Argentine ambassador in Santiago, Jorge Faurie, sent a letter to the Chilean government expressing his intention to carry out the removal, when there were suitable weather conditions, and apologizing.
On Saturday (15), there was an act against Argentina in front of the country’s consulate in Santiago. Now came Boric’s statement. Faced with this Monday’s ultimatum, the Milei government informed that it was sending a team of 11 people to remove the panels.
According to Clarín, the episode put at risk the holding of an event celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the two countries, scheduled for November.
In April, there had already been embarrassment after Milei announced that Argentina would build a joint naval base with the United States in the province of Tierra del Fuego, in the extreme south of the country, which, although intended to reinforce Argentina’s claim over the Malvinas Islands, would also have an influence on the fight with Santiago over Antarctica.
Although the Boric government, unlike the current episode, did not create verbal conflict at the time, Chilean left-wing deputies took advantage of the case to criticize Milei.
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