Following the silence of the National and Provincial Governments, this morning the United States Embassy broke the silence with a statement that, under a veneer of "environmental and health cooperation", hides the true nature of the visit of the delegation headed by Republican Senator Morgan Griffith .

Today, Monday, the bipartisan delegation has a busy schedule in the capital of Tierra del Fuego. According to information gathered by Agenda Malvinas, the focus is not on ecology, but rather on the direct inspection of strategic projects that Gustavo Melella's administration has revived with the People's Republic of China.

Agenda for today: Science, Technology and "Supervision"

Under the coordination of the Embassy's Science and Technology Attaché, a key meeting will take place this afternoon. Although the authorities of CADIC-CONICET declined the official invitation, three researchers will participate in their personal capacity, along with representatives from UNTDF . The formal agenda—climate change and waste management—is the pretext for the delegation to tour the site adjacent to the landfill, where the new thermoelectric power plant, financed by Asian capital, is planned.

The two projects that are "raising Washington's minds"

The presence of Griffith and his "Supervision and Investigations" team points directly to two pillars of energy and economic sovereignty that are financed and technologically advanced by China:

1. Industrialization of Royalty Gas (Urea Plant)

This project, originally initiated by former Governor Fabiana Ríos in 2006 with Shanxi province, was revived by Melella after resolving a $30 million legal dispute. It entails a total investment exceeding $800 million to transform natural gas into urea and methanol. For the United States, this plant represents not only commercial competition but also a stronghold of Chinese influence in the heart of the island's hydrocarbon production, with the potential for a dedicated port in the north to export this production.

2. The New Thermoelectric Power Plant of Ushuaia

With an initial investment of US$65 million through the Asian consortium Rainbow International Xi'an Engineering , this project aims to resolve the structural energy crisis in the capital city, which currently operates with outdated equipment. The power plant is projected to generate 60 MW (including waste heat recovery), guaranteeing supply for the next 30 years. The US delegation is seeking to learn about the progress of this infrastructure, which would solidify the province's technological and financial dependence on state-owned companies from the Asian giant.

A pre-planned landing

Despite the "surprise" arrival of the delegation, Embassy officials notified the government of Gustavo Melella 10 days in advance . The lack of official communication from the Tierra del Fuego government is unjustified. The only possible explanation would be the impossibility or inability to announce the arrival of the US senators beforehand, at the very moment the national government was intervening in the port .

Be that as it may, the arrival without apparent invitation "from anyone" cannot help but be considered as a "sovereignty inspection" by a power that, in the words of the former head of the Southern Command, Laura Richardson, sees the resources of South America as a matter of its own national security.

While the Boeing C-40 Clipper waits on the runway, Ushuaia becomes today the chessboard where the US and China, the two global powers, measure their strength over the resources and strategic position of Tierra del Fuego.