A Boeing C-40 Clipper from the US Department of Defense landed at Ushuaia's Malvinas Argentinas International Airport on Sunday morning, without official announcements. The event took place three days after the national government's intervention in the local port, fueling concerns over Argentine sovereignty. Local authorities and unions demand explanations amid the information vacuum.
On Sunday, January 25, 2026, around 11 a.m., a US military Boeing C-40 Clipper aircraft landed at Ushuaia's Malvinas Argentinas International Airport. This plane, operated by the US Air Force under the RCH call sign of the Air Mobility Command, had departed on Thursday, January 22, from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, USA. It made a stopover of over two hours in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Friday the 23rd, arrived at Buenos Aires' Jorge Newbery Aeroparque on Saturday morning, and then headed to Ushuaia.
The Boeing C-40 Clipper is commonly used to transport high-ranking civil or military officials, equipped with encrypted communications and rest areas for distinguished passengers. No Argentine or US official has provided details on the flight's purpose, the crew's or passengers' identities.
The landing coincides with the national government's intervention in Ushuaia's port on Thursday the 22nd, a key site for Antarctic logistics, maritime trade, and Argentina's projection in the South Atlantic. The action led to the dismissal of dozens of workers and a scandal in the city, with Tierra del Fuego authorities criticizing it as a violation of federalism. Governor Gustavo Melella, along with senators like Cristina López and Pablo Blanco, raised alarms about potential concessions to the United States, related to a naval base under construction.
The CGT Regional Ushuaia issued a statement repudiating the landing as an affront to sovereignty, questioning the coincidence with the port intervention and contacts with US authorities, and demanding transparency. Nationalist former candidate César Biondini posted on X: "In sync with the intervention of the Ushuaia port, today a US military plane landed in the Fuegian capital. It's not just any aircraft: it transports high-ranking officials and departed from the base where Trump's presidential plane is secured. The facts are piling up. Milei's strategic subordination is accelerating".
Faced with official silence, hypotheses grow of an agreement between President Javier Milei and Donald Trump to hand over port control to the United States, deepening confusion in the province.
