The mention of the Malvinas Islands as "Malvinas" in an official statement caused a huge stir, raising a huge storm of dust as organizations of ex-combatants and war veterans, as well as different sectors of the opposition and even within the government itself, kicked up a fuss. In this regard, the newspaper Página|12 reported that: "Foreign Minister Diana Mondino, in an attempt to defend the indefensible, said in the same tweet that it was false that the statement had been issued by the Foreign Ministry and, at the same time, that they were identifying "the person responsible" to fire him. Without having accurate information about the culprit, she assured that this person was "guided by leftist ideology." After the embarrassment, the Minister of Defense, Luis Petri, called the person responsible "a bastard" who is going to be fired and said that the word "Malvinas" was added in a "subsequent manipulation" carried out by an organization that depends on his portfolio called the Coordination of Veterans of the Malvinas War. Opponents claimed that it was not a mistake, but rather a "surrender of sovereignty." Despite the apparent indignation of some libertarian officials, this is not the first sign of the National Government's surrender in its claim to the islands."
Official sources say that the statement was drafted by the Foreign Ministry headed by Mondino. The document was then sent to the ministry headed by Petri for publication and, after it was sent, the Foreign Ministry realized the error and quickly corrected it. However, they did not inform all recipients of the "mistake" and it came out as it did. Its circulation on social networks made it go viral.
"We want to remove the bastard responsible for this malicious act because it does not reflect the positions we have been holding ," said Petri without mentioning who the person is who did it. Meanwhile, Casa Rosada reaffirms the chancellor in her position and emphasizes: "Diana had nothing to do with it. It was Defense," reported the morning paper Página|12.
"My team doesn't save a single ball and on top of that they score goals against me ," Mondino is reported to have said, very angry, already shouting in the corridors of the San Martín Palace, when on Wednesday afternoon on social networks the screenshots of the official statement from the Foreign Ministry became a trending topic and everyone could see that they were calling our Malvinas Islands "Malvinas", the name given to them by the British invader.
Mondino is on the tightrope and hanging by a thread because as we reported in Agenda Malvinas, deputies of Unión por la Patria formally requested a political trial against her as a response to the agreements regarding Malvinas announced by the Foreign Ministry in a statement signed on September 24 with the secretary of the English Foreign Office, David Lammy . In addition to the request for political trial, there are three complaints filed against her before the courts in recent weeks: the first one made by the lawyer of the relatives of the victims of the ARA San Juan, Valeria Carreras ; the second, made by the CECIM La Plata ; and the third, carried out by the Confederation of Combatants of Malvinas Republic of Argentina .
The UxP deputy and former combatant, Aldo Leiva , said that the agreement signed by Mondino "seeks to strengthen" the presence of the United Kingdom in the Argentine islands and "guarantee the logistics that the Kelpers need" , in addition to consolidating the NATO military base and the use of natural resources. "Since he took office in December, Mondino has favored, by action and omission, the interests of Great Britain in the South Atlantic," highlighted Página|12, which was denounced by the opposition bloc.
With the sword of Damocles of impeachment hanging over her head, Mondino went into crisis when she found out about the "mistake" in the statement that had been written by the Foreign Ministry: "It seems to be on purpose. The diplomats keep getting me into trouble and then they screw me over with their salaries," she is said to have said in a very bad mood to her collaborators. And she first pointed the finger at Gerardo Díaz Bartolomé , the diplomat responsible for the press office of the Foreign Ministry, who had given the go-ahead for the statement to be sent; and then, the accusations were against the Ministry.
The Foreign Ministry is plagued by ongoing internal disputes between career diplomats and sectors that are vertically identified with the libertarian ideology of Javier Milei 's government. Last week, the president himself sent a letter to members of the Foreign Service in which he asked those who were against his ideas to step aside. "That letter was received badly by diplomats, who nevertheless preferred to keep a low profile and avoid an escalation with the president," Infobae reported.
In this context of contained rebellion that has been going on for some time now, Mondino has had two important losses in recent weeks: the vice-chancellor Leopoldo Sahores , and the ambassador to the UN, Ricardo Lagorio , two heavyweights of diplomacy, with extensive careers, resigned. In any case, at the San Martín Palace they came out to clarify : “There was an error here that we are completely unaware of,” Infobae published.
Did the defense throw itself on top of the grenade?
Petri acknowledged last Thursday that the original Foreign Ministry statement reporting on a meeting between Mondino and Gilles Carbonier , vice president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), did not contain the word “Malvinas,” but that it had been added in a subsequent manipulation carried out by an agency of the Ministry of Defense.
According to the minister, the original text of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would have been modified by the Coordination of Veterans of the Malvinas War. In this regard, one of those targeted is Colonel Jorge Zanella , head of the organization.
“Zanella asked that the same link that the Foreign Ministry posted be removed, as it identified a relevant news item for the families and veterans of Malvinas ,” he explained in reference to the resumption of negotiations on the Third Plan of the Humanitarian Project. Petri also commented that he requested “the preparation of a summary because there is a difference between the text prepared by the Foreign Ministry and the one that is posted. Not only regarding the name of the Malvinas Islands (as Malvinas), but the entire content, and this cannot happen.”
"We are conducting an investigation to find the person responsible and apply the maximum sanctions ," said Petri .
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