U.S. Navy SEALs will carry out joint drills with Argentina this month as the White House focuses its attention on Latin America and the Pentagon embarks on preparations “for war.”
A platoon of Navy SEALs will train alongside roughly 40 Argentine tactical divers, a spokesperson for the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) told Newsweek. A platoon is typically 16 people.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump has dubbed Argentina’s far-right leader, Javier Milei, his “favorite president.” Argentina’s foreign ministry said this week Milei would travel to the White House later this month in a “new opportunity to continue strengthening the strategic partnership between both countries.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth—who recently rebranded himself the Secretary of War—told a highly unusual gathering of senior U.S. military leaders in Virginia on Tuesday that “the only mission of the newly restored Department of War is this: war-fighting, preparing for war and preparing to win.”
What To Know
Milei authorized U.S. Navy personnel to enter Argentina for drills dubbed Exercise “Tridente” between October 20 and November 15, according to a presidential decree published by the government in Buenos Aires this week.
The SOUTHCOM spokesperson said the U.S.’s Special Operations Forces “routinely conduct” what is known as joint combined exchange training (JCETs) with other countries, and Tridente “encompasses a series of pre-coordinated JCETs.” The “initial engagement” between U.S. and Argentine personnel is scheduled to take place between October 29 to November 16 at the Mar del Plata naval base south of Buenos Aires, the spokesperson said.
A group of U.S. soldiers are “authorized to conduct exercises with our special forces in Puerto Belgrano, Mar del Plata, and Ushuaia,” Juan Battaleme, the secretary for international affairs in Argentina’s defense ministry, told Newsweek. Puerto Belgrano is west of Mar del Plata, and Ushuaia sits in Argentina’s far south.
The decree indicates Argentina’s Congress has not granted its permission for the action. The government has “no other option but to carry out scheduled training via decree,” said Battaleme.
The exercises “offer tangible benefits” for strengthening Argentina’s capabilities and for shoring up its international alliances, the decree said, as well as improving how resources are used and how easily Argentina’s forces can work with foreign militaries. To not take part, the decree said, “would significantly impact naval training in combined operations with the United States Navy.” The SOUTHCOM spokesperson said they could not give details about the vessels or assets involved for security reasons.
Argentina’s participation in the drills show the country’s commitment to “regional stability and international security,” the decree said, as well as “improving its reputation as a partner” to the U.S. and cementing Argentina’s place in future multinational operations.
“Compared to recent years, US-Argentine relations are at its peak and it’s cascading into the military terrain,” said Carlos Solar, a senior research fellow in Latin American security with the U.K.-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank. Milei’s government has been clear it wishes to sidle closer to the U.S, including in defense policy, Solar told Newsweek.
Argentina bought two dozen F-16 fighter jets from Denmark in 2024 in a roughly $300 million deal, with the green light from the U.S, and U.S. Southern Command chief, Admiral Alvin Holsey, has visited Argentina twice since May this year.
Exercise Tridente “is one of the many outcomes of Holsey’s tour, and if successful, I can foresee efforts by both nations to make this a yearly exercise,” Solar said.
The government said in the same decree that Argentine forces would participate in drills in Puerto Varas, southern Chile, in October as part of exercises referred to as “Solidaridad,” or solidarity. The U.S. is currently hosting UNITAS, joint drills with 25 countries, including Argentina, and carried out exercises with Buenos Aires in May 2024.
Trump has deployed warships to the southern Caribbean as part of the administration’s vowed crackdown on drug cartels, and said U.S. forces have struck several boats allegedly operated by drug traffickers. The administration has provided little concrete evidence the boats were operated by what Trump described as “narcoterrorists,” raising tensions with Venezuela and concerns over whether the lethal strikes were legal.
“Sea power projection is at its height in the southern Caribbean Sea,” Solar said.
What People Are Saying
Carlos Solar, senior research fellow in Latin American security with the U.K.-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank, told Newsweek: “Under Washington’s eyes, US maritime power, and the combined show of force with regional partners, are both a tool of deterrence and geopolitical signaling.”