MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lamelas causes uproar in Buenos Aires

Trump's pick for the US Embassy in Buenos Aires made quite an impression among Argentine opposition leaders

After his speech Tuesday before the US Senate, Peter Lamelas, Donald Trump's nominee for US ambassador to Argentina, has sparked widespread condemnation from Argentine governors, former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (CFK), and the Chinese Embassy in Buenos Aires.

Lamelas stated his intention to keep China's influence in the region at a minimum, as well as that from “authoritarian” countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Iran, in addition to ensuring that CFK “receives the justice she deserves.”

In response, Governors Axel Kicillof (Buenos Aires), Sergio Ziliotto (La Pampa), Ricardo Quintela (La Rioja), and Gustavo Melella (Tierra del Fuego) strongly criticized Lamelas, accusing him of disrespecting Argentina's sovereignty, violating international law, and engaging in interventionism. Kicillof specifically stated he would not have the Cuban-born physician Lamelas in his office.

CFK issued a scathing letter likening the ambassadorial hopeful to past US interventions and asserting “Lamelas... or Argentina,” implying a choice between foreign imposition and national sovereignty. She also accused Washington and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of directing the current Argentine government. In 1945, it was [then US Ambassador Spruille] “Braden or Perón. Now it's... LAMELAS... or ARGENTINA. You choose,” CFK underlined.

The Chinese Embassy in Buenos Aires condemned Lamelas's “ideological prejudices” and “Cold War zero-sum thinking,” emphasizing that China's cooperation with Latin American countries is based on mutual respect and does not seek geopolitical interests. The diplomatic mission also highlighted that Argentina should not be a “stage for the games of the great powers.”

Moreover, Argentine lawmakers also submitted a draft resolution condemning Lamelas' statements as unacceptable interference in national sovereignty.

(See also: Future US Ambassador to Buenos Aires insists on neutrality regarding Falklands' case)