Following the recent publication by this portal regarding the testimonies given before the Special Investigating Commission of the Provincial Legislature , former members of the team of the former Minister of Defense of the Nation, Jorge Taiana (2021-2023), categorically denied that the engineer Alejandro Gabriel Yaya was part of the functional structure of said portfolio.

The clarification arises from the statements made in the parliamentary chamber by the mayor of Tolhuin, Daniel Harrington , who stated that in 2022 —after verifying the irregular works of the company LeoLabs in the Estancia "El Relincho" — he communicated directly with Alejandro Yaya in his capacity as a presumed Defense official to alert him about the situation.

The formal denial from the Defense leadership

In a formal communication sent to the editorial staff of Agenda Malvinas , the former collaborators of former minister Jorge Taiana stated verbatim:

"Engineer Alejandro Yaya did not serve as an official of the Ministry of Defense during the administration of Minister Jorge Taiana (2021-2023).

Furthermore, we do not know the terms of the communication that Mayor Harrington would have had with Mr. Yaya, given that he did not hold any position within the department led by Jorge Taiana during that period.

Furthermore, Administrative Decision No. 911/2022, cited in this note, corresponds to a designation by the Ministry of the Interior and not by the Ministry of Defense."

Documentary rectification regarding Administrative Decision No. 911/2022

In strict adherence to the journalistic rigor that characterizes Agenda Malvinas , the aforementioned official regulations were verified. Indeed, Administrative Decision No. 911/2022 (published in Official Gazette No. 35,007 of September 19, 2022) pertained to the appointment of an official within the Secretariat of Provinces of the Ministry of the Interior , and not to an appointment within the structure of the Ministry of Defense.

This editorial team assumes the corresponding rectification regarding said administrative act, making it clear that Mr. Alejandro Yaya was not included in the list of authorities of the Ministry of Defense appointed under that resolution.

Institutional channels and Harrington's testimony

The denial from members of the Taiana administration raises new questions about the formal channels used in 2022. Even though engineer Alejandro Yaya was not an official at the Ministry of Defense during that period, Mayor Daniel Harrington confirmed in the legislature that he had communicated with him to convey the community's concern regarding the progress of clandestine construction in Tolhuin.

The fact shows that, in his search for institutional answers, the highest municipal authority of Tolhuin could have channeled his warning towards an interlocutor who was not part of the military portfolio led by Jorge Taiana , omitting the organic channels and formal circuits of the Ministry of Defense to file a complaint of such importance for territorial security.

The course of the appearances in the Special Investigating Commission —which will include in its agenda the testimonies of the former minister Jorge Taiana himself and the former Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Juan Martín Paleo— will allow for a formal clarification of how and when the first alerts entered the Ministry of Defense and what the official procedure was prior to the issuance of the technical report that ordered the definitive cancellation of the radar operations.