BUENOS AIRES: Argentine-US tensions over items seized from a visiting US military aircraft spiked higher Tuesday after Buenos Aires claimed its personnel "would have ended up in Guantanamo" if the situation were reversed.
"Imagine what situation Argentina would have found itself in if it had transported the same things to the United States?" asked Argentina's cabinet
chief, Anibal Fernandez.
chief, Anibal Fernandez.
"We would have ended up in Guantanamo, in orange uniforms, in conditions I don't even want to get into," he told reporters.
"We are talking about national sovereignty."
The harsh words ratcheted up a row that started when Buenos Aires authorities last Thursday seized what they said were undeclared weapons and drugs including morphine on a US Air Force C-17 transport plane carrying experts and material for a hostage rescue training exercise.
Argentine President Cristina Kirchner's government said in a statement Sunday it was lodging a protest with Washington over the attempt "to violate Argentine laws by bringing in hidden material in an official shipment."
Foreign Minister Hector Timerman on Monday told CNN that US officials "refuse to cooperate with the investigation."
The US State Department has said it was "disturbed" by the confiscation of what it described as routine equipment for police training -- including batteries, medicine, a rifle and communications equipment.
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Argentine officials carried out "an unusual and unannounced search of the aircraft's cargo" and that any discrepancy between the cargo manifest and the items seized could have been resolved on the ground, without escalation.
"We continue to call on the Argentine government to return our equipment," he said.
On Tuesday, a State Department official, Matthew Rooney, told reporters from AFP and other outlets in Miami that the friction was all the result of a "misunderstanding."
"That there could have been problems with the plane's papers, maybe, but we'll clear up these discrepancies because there was no intent to illegally import prohibited things into Argentina," he said.
The incident comes amid a chill in US-Argentine bilateral relations, and follows US President Barack Obama's decision to exclude Argentina from his first scheduled trip to Latin America, in March. Obama will travel to El Salvador, Brazil and Chile.
Timerman claimed Obama was not visiting Argentina because "it won't buy arms or even sign a defense agreement."
The spat also follows revelations in November last year by the activist website WikiLeaks of a 2009 US diplomatic cable in which US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked the US embassy in Buenos Aires about Kirchner's mental state.
"How is Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner managing her nerves and anxiety?" and "How does stress affect her behavior toward advisers and/or her decision making?" she asked. "What steps does Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner or her advisers/handlers take in helping her deal with stress? Is she taking any medications?" (AFP)
