-( By Carlos Mariano Poó ) -The history of the British radar installed in the “El Relincho” ranch, located in the heart of the large island of Tierra del Fuego, near Tolhuin, never ceases to give us surprises. From the moment we was made public, the government of the province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands and the national government have maintained a barrage of exchanges where they hold each other responsible for the installation of the now discord radar.
And this crossover and misunderstandings do not seem to have existed before the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JEMCO), Lieutenant General (TG) Juan Martín Paleo , made it known with an extensive and clarifying opinion note that was published just when 207 years have passed since our declaration of Independence, in a Buenos Aires digital medium. [1]
What's more, in mid-March everyone seemed to celebrate, although without making much fuss and even without cutting ribbons, something that so affects national, provincial and even municipal public officials of any type and partisan political stripe, what the meddlesome North American ambassador in Argentina, Mark Stanley , published on his social networks: the news of the Leolabs radar installed and monitoring in search of space junk in low orbit.
It should be noted that the issue of radar began to be discussed in our country, at least since April 2020 , when we were in full preventive and mandatory social isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was in that month that, through common contacts, the Leolabs company based in Menlo, California, communicated with the then Director of the Rio Grande Astronomical Station (EARG), José Luis Hormaechea. He is currently retired from the EARG and, according to what he has stated, would be a consultant for the company.
According to Hormaechea , at first Leolabs intended to install the radar on the Chilean side of the large island of Tierra del Fuego and it was he who convinced them to install it on the Argentine side. Hormaechea has more than 30 years of work at EARG , he was a teacher, and now he would be part of the Leolabs technical team for this project as a consultant. In an interview with journalist José Piñeiro, from Radio Provincia, Hormaechea commented that “in In that sense, I am very calm and that is why I am collaborating with them,” although he clarified that “I cannot speak on behalf of Leolabs, nor of Leolabs Argentina, but I can speak on behalf of the process because I know it first-hand.” [2]
Always within the framework of his work, Hormaechea helped Leolabs with the search for a site to locate the radar and contacts with potential service providers.
But who were the national officials who were responsible for dealing with the granting of the precarious permit that was finally granted to Leolabs Argentina SRL in November 2022?
First of all, we must mention Mariano Lombardi, Undersecretary of Telecommunications and Connectivity (SSTyC) because he was the one who signed the provision that granted the precarious permit to the company. Lombardi had taken office a couple of weeks earlier at the SSTyC , replacing Martín Olmos , who had held that position since December 2019 and resigned when his mother, Kelly Olmos , was appointed to head the Ministry of Labor at the end of October 2022. At the time of his appointment, the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers was Juan Luis Manzur , who had held that position since September 2021 and held said portfolio until February 2023.
The SSTyC depends on the Secretariat of Public Innovation (SIP), headed by Micaela Sánchez Malcolm, who, like Martín Olmos, was appointed to that position in December 2019. Both the SIP and the SSTyC depended at that time on the Head of the Cabinet of Ministers, headed by Santiago Cafiero, who currently serves as Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship . This is not a minor fact, since the approval of the permit should have gone through said ministry, but Cafiero maintains that he was not consulted for this purpose.
Here we have to highlight another aspect, when Lombardi signs the provision by which the precarious permit is granted to Leolabs Argentina SRL, Micaela Sánchez Malcolm continued to be the Secretary of Public Innovation and the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers was still Juan Luis Manzur.
Another interesting fact is that since August 2022 the Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers is Juan Manuel Olmos.
Only in February 2023 will there be a new change in the Head of the Cabinet of Ministers when Agustín Rossi takes office , a month before the North American ambassador, Mark Stanley , made his announcements through social networks promoting the Leolabs radar on Earth of fire. Currently, Olmos continues to be the Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers.
For his part, the Minister of Defense since August 2021 is Jorge Taiana and he has stated that he is unaware of the radar issue because it was not reported to the ministry that he commands.Similar argument put forward by Santiago Cafiero when he says that the Foreign Ministry was not informed of the matter , a reason that led to a more direct public accusation about the excess of functions that the governor of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands, Gustavo, would have incurred. Melella, and the SSTyC, Mariano Lombardi .
For now we can say that the criminal complaints are already underway in the Federal Criminal and Correctional Court 8 since 09/28/23.
