Buenos Aires Herald 
The United States Senate confirmed Peter Lamelas as ambassador to Argentina, a little over two months after he made his presentation before the foreign affairs commission. Lamelas will have to travel to Argentina and present his credentials to the local government before he can formally take on the post.
U.S. Embassy sources told the Herald that there is still no timeline in place for when this might happen.
In a post on X responding to a statement made by the embassy, Lamelas said that he looked forward to helping align the interests of the two countries and assisting to improve bilateral trade. He added that he would strive to “make America stronger” while helping Argentina do the same.
“A stronger, prosperous, and democratic Argentina is critical for stability in our western hemisphere,” he wrote.
Lamelas is a Cuban-born physician and healthcare industry businessman. U.S. President Donald Trump announced he would be proposing him for the post in December 2024, a little over a month after he won the elections.
During Trump’s first presidential term, Lamelas served on the Department of Justice’s Medal of Valor Review Board and the Florida Board of Medicine. He was also Town Commissioner in Manalapan, Florida, and is the founder and former CEO of MD Now Urgent Care, one of Florida’s largest urgent care networks.
Lamela’s Senate presentation
In his presentation before the senate in late July, the diplomat said that the U.S. wanted to be Argentina’s “partner of choice” as it reopens to global markets. He went on to say that ensuring “lower trade barriers and secure partnerships” was Washington’s “strategic interest.”
Lamelas also spoke about the ongoing conflict between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands. “The islands are an issue,” he said. He explained that, while the United States “recognizes” British administration, the country holds a position of “neutrality” and “does not recognize sovereignty over the islands for either Argentina or Britain.”
Regarding the broader geopolitical scenario, Lamelas said that he would also “stand firm against the malign influence of adversarial powers in the region,” citing countries like Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, China, and Iran. He added that the relationship between the U.S. and Argentina could be “a shining example to the rest of Latin America.”
The Chinese embassy in Argentina rejected his comments at the time, calling them “plagued with ideological prejudice and Cold War mentality, based on a zero-sum game that does little more than provoke a sensation of concern about the possible return of the Monroe Doctrine.”
In another passage, he vowed to support judicial proceedings over the AMIA bombing and ensure that former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who is currently serving a six-year jail sentence under house arrest, “receives the justice that she well deserves.”
Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof criticized his remarks, saying that a diplomatic envoy could not behave “as if they were the tutor of the sovereign policies of the country that receives them.” Kicillof went on to say that the remarks “evoke the darkest eras of U.S. interference in the democratic life of our region.”
Editorial disclaimer: Although the UK refers to the territory as the “Falkland Islands,” Argentina strongly contests this name. The Buenos Aires Herald uses “Malvinas” to refer to the islands.
