Politics in Tierra del Fuego is witnessing a maneuver of administrative "magical realism ." Governor Gustavo Melella, who weeks ago called Javier Milei's officials "useless" and "grabbers," has just dusted off a project that his own administration had rejected as unfeasible: the Mirgor Group's tourist port.

Last August, Agenda Malvinas asked a high-ranking official from the DPP (Department of Planning and Budget) why they hadn't approved the construction project submitted by Caputo's company, and this is what he told us : “ We didn't reject it. We told them to come and see it here 'in situ.' What they design from the comfort of their armchairs in Buenos Aires without considering what's functional and what's underneath the ground, and much less, without knowing how it works in a place with harsh weather conditions... So we received them, and they only realized it was a mess.”

Santiago Caputo; the one-two, in the political construction of President Javier Milei, alongside Karina Milei.

When Melella himself declared the terminal of Nicolás "Nicky" Caputo — first cousin of the current Minister of Economy of the Nation, Luis "Toto" Caputo and uncle of Santiago Caputo, left-hand man of President Javier Milei — to be of strategic interest a few days ago , the governor It appears he is attempting a political gamble: using the businessman closest to the central power as a bridge to unblock the intervention that is currently suffocating his political coffers and operational control.

From "desk projects" to strategic priority

It is clear that, in August 2025, the Provincial Port Authority (DPP) formally rejected Mirgor's port design . At that time, the Tierra del Fuego technicians were scathing: the project had been designed in offices in Buenos Aires without a single geological study of the Beagle Channel's seabed . It was a structure "in mid-air," lacking structural support for the complex currents and depths off the Tierra del Fuego coast.

However, today, with the government-appointed administrator Juan Avellaneda sitting on the dock and the federal prosecutor's office exposing the province's "shortcomings" in its failed attempt to legally reclaim the port, the Melella administration has decided that this same project is now an urgent priority . The questions are obvious : Did Mirgor submit a new engineering and construction project, different from last year's? Have the seabed conditions changed? Or has Melella's political need to curry favor with the Caputo clan changed?

The time factor: The intervention that will outlive Melella

Gustavo Melella's desperate move, or rather his desperate flailing, has a critical chronological context . The national intervention, initiated on January 21, 2026 , has an initial term of one year with the possibility of a two-year extension. This means that the national government intends to maintain legal control of the port until the end of Melella's term and the conclusion of Milei's first term.

Given this scenario, Melella's "re-announcement" of Mirgor's investment appears to be an attempt to regain control of the port through this private investment. If the governor succeeds in moving Caputo's project forward, he will force the national government to either negotiate or withdraw so as not to hinder the "Minister's cousin."

The questions of a mortgaged sovereignty

1.   Dual command or surrender?: Roberto Murcia himself admits that the intervention prevents public works from being carried out. How then does he plan to execute a 6,800 m² private project without the approval of those who have "appropriated" the ANPyN?

2.   The "business" between the lines: In his March 1st speech before the Legislature, Melella accused the libertarians of doing business with the "Kukas" (a derogatory term for Kirchnerists). Is the port of Mirgor the meeting point where ideological "half measures" end and family business deals take over?

3.   Technical insecurity: If the project was rejected due to a lack of geological information and/or engineering deficiencies, who now guarantees the safety of a terminal that will receive thousands of tourists? Or does the urgency to "get the nation out" justify building on muddy foundations?

The Port of Ushuaia has ceased to be a matter of sovereignty and has become a poker table of politics and business . Melella is betting heavily on the Caputo family to try to get the national government to return control of the dock. But the risk is extremely high: if the gamble backfires, the province will not only have lost the public port to government intervention, but will have also handed over maritime jurisdiction to a private holding company under technical conditions that just six months ago it dismissed as dangerous .