Governor cries foul as Milei puts Ushuaia port under trusteeship

Tierra del Fuego Governor Gustavo Melella lashed out midweek against the national government’s intervention into the running of the port of Ushuaia, attributing it to possible "geopolitical factors" stemming from the Javier Milei administration’s alignment with the United States.

"It’s all suspicious and triggers more doubts, especially in this context where the US government and ours are so closely linked over this issue and others," expressed the governor on his X account, days after the port was placed under trusteeship for alleged mismanagement.

Melella insisted: "Understanding that the trusteeship is illegal, irrational and completely unfounded, because that is the truth, you have to say, well, what is the real motive behind all this?"

"It could be some business deal or really have something to do with geopolitical questions because Argentina is very strongly in hock to the United States, surrendering its sovereignty. The truth is that there are strong suspicions," speculated the opposition governor.

The 12-month trusteeship at the Port of Ushuaia was announced last week citing financial irregularities and serious shortcomings in port infrastructure.

The intervention sparked strong opposition from Melella, who described the claims as unfounded. 

“There is no objective justification for a decision of this magnitude," said the Peronist governor. 

The governor said that Tierra del Fuego "has a strategic location valued by the whole world except we Argentines," adding: "I always recognise that the British presence in the Malvinas [Islands] is not due to how they understand sovereignty or any affection for its soil – it is a geopolitical question."

The Port of Ushuaia is considered a strategic asset, due to its proximity to Antarctica and its status as one of the country's main cruiser ports. Although it does not have the highest commercial volume, its role in international connectivity and tourism makes it sensitive both operationally and politically.

Melella insisted that the national government trusteeship could be linked to that geopolitical question since "it’s all about the South Atlantic, the natural resources, the port of entry into the Antarctic and the next great global dispute looming."

"It is possible and real to me that the United States has a geopolitical outlook on the South Atlantic. Since I cannot find any reasonable explanation in any legal issue for the port trusteeship, the truth is that the mantle of suspicion is extremely broad," he concluded.

The governor’s statements were made almost a week after the government announced a trusteeship over the local port and two days after a US military aircraft landed at Malvinas Argentinas Airport without official clearance.

Trouble on port side

Argentina’s National Agency for Ports and Navigation (ANPyN) suspended the operating licence of the Port of Ushuaia after detecting irregularities in the management of funds and ordered the trusteeship over the port administration.

In a statement, the ANPyN said it had formally instructed the provincial government to address a range of irregularities, including alleged deviation of funds and operational and safety risks linked to insufficient infrastructure investment.

“The decision was taken as a result of the lack of concrete responses to inspections carried out, complaints of asset-stripping raised by workers and concerns expressed by representatives of shipping companies operating at the port,” the agency said.

The resolution, signed by ANPyN executive director Iñaki Arreseygor, establishes that the port will be placed under trusteeship for one year. It was published on January 22 in the Official Gazette.

The measure was triggered by a lawsuit challenging Provincial Law No. 1596, which created a fund to cover debts of the state-run health insurer OSEF using the Port of Ushuaia’s financial surplus.

The lawsuit was filed by Juan Avellaneda, secretary-general of the senior railway staff trade union, who has been appointed to oversee the port’s operational management under the supervision of ANPyN directors and senior officials, reported Noticias Argentinas.

ANPyN said inspections uncovered multiple infrastructural failures and deficiencies, along with  serious shortcomings in administrative and financial management, as well as basic operational safety conditions.

The agency said these issues were formally reported to the provincial authorities, alongside a demand for the creation of a transparent register of income, expenditure and procurement. That function, it noted, had been outsourced to a company whose registered business activities were unrelated to port services.

According to ANPyN, a third of the port’s budget had been used to subsidise the provincial government accounts, in breach of regulations requiring port revenues to be reinvested exclusively in port infrastructure and operations. 

As a result, just 1.3 percent of the budget was allocated to works and services aimed at improving operational quality.

Argentina’s Coast Guard (Prefectura Naval) will assist the trustees to strengthen safety conditions and support operational tasks at the port, the agency added.

– TIMES/NA/PERFIL