The head of the United States Southern Command, Admiral Alvin Holsey, will visit Argentina this week to meet with senior defense and military authorities, as well as visiting the naval base in Ushuaia.

It is the first time Holsey has visited the country since assuming the command in November.

During the three-day visit, he will meet with Defense Minister Luis Petri, Chief of the Argentine Armed Forces’ Joint Staff General Xavier Isaac, and other government officials, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Argentina.

They will discuss strengthening military collaboration between Argentina and the U.S. and enhancing regional security, among other topics.

Holsey will also visit the naval base in Ushuaia to understand the role of military personnel there in “safeguarding maritime routes vital to global commerce,” the embassy added.

The U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires did not immediately respond to questions about Holsey’s arrival or agenda in Argentina.

The previous head of the U.S. Southern Command, Laura Richardson, made yearly visits to Argentina each April. In 2024, President Javier Milei met Richardson in Ushuaia, vowing that Argentina would increase its “strategic alliance” with the U.S. and speaking of a “special affinity” between the countries.

Illegal Chinese fishing in Argentina

The president also accused the Alberto Fernández government of not doing enough to tackle illegal fishing in Argentina’s seas — a veiled jab at the Chinese fishing industry. 

Chinese vessels, and vessels with other nations’ flags operated by Chinese capital, often fish right up to, and sometimes over, the border of Argentina’s exclusive economic zone. In March 2024, authorities caught a Chinese fishing boat operating within Argentine waters, with its navigation system switched off.

Weeks earlier, the head of Argentina’s fisheries monitoring agency resigned, claiming he had been pressured to ignore an Argentine boat owned by a Chinese-born businessman based in Ushuaia, which had illegally scooped up hundreds of tonnes of black hake. Liu Zhijiang, the business owner, told the Herald’s sister title Ámbito that the boat was fishing for a different kind of hake and a small percentage of black hake was swimming alongside the school.

Argentina’s Integrated Naval base in Ushuaia aims to improve the country’s logistic capacity in Antarctica. It was launched by the previous government in April 2023.

Holsey is originally from Fort Valley, Georgia. He holds a degree in computer science from Morehouse College, where he was commissioned through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps, and a masters in management from Troy State University. He has commanded a helicopter anti-submarine squadron and the U.S. navy’s first hybrid electric propulsion warship.

He also led a taskforce dedicated to ensuring freedom of navigation and free flowing trade in the Middle East.