Uruguay: US Military Aircraft Without Parliamentary Approval

On Thursday, two US military aircraft landed at the Uruguayan airport of Punta del Este, according to information published by a local media on social networks.

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The news would not be transcendental, except that the entry into the country of foreign military forces and means requires a permit from the Legislative Power.

The R Multimedia group quoted the X account Carrascopotter, specialized in aeronautics, which reported the landing at the Uruguayan airport of two Sikorsky MH-60S Seahawk helicopters of the United States Navy.

"This confirms that the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington is currently near the Uruguayan coast," the account said.

Dos aeronaves provenientes del portaaviones estadounidense USS George Washington aterrizaron en el Aeropuerto de Punta del Este, Uruguay. El subsecretario de Defensa, Rivera Elgue, explicó que los helicópteros vinieron a recoger a personas invitadas a visitar el portaaviones. pic.twitter.com/FSoHrtRIQG

— Canal Doce Melo (@CanalDoceMelo) May 30, 2024

 The text reads, 

Two aircraft from the US carrier USS George Washington landed at Punta del Este Airport, Uruguay. Undersecretary of Defense Rivera Elgue explained that the helicopters came to pick up people invited to visit the aircraft carrier.

The Uruguayan media outlet claims that the Undersecretary of Defense, Rivera Elgue, acknowledged that the aircraft landed to "come and pick up people who were invited to visit the aircraft carrier", since last Monday in Argentinean waters.

Reportedly, it will not dock in any port and will participate in joint exercises with the Argentine Navy, which deployed four ships to meet it.

At the end of April, the US Coast Guard vessel Cutter James had to leave Uruguayan waters after a political and legislative controversy over its entry, which violated precepts of the National Constitution.

Parliamentarians from the opposition Frente Amplio denounced the fact that the warship did not have the permission of the National Assembly, as required by the Constitution.

The Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs acknowledged that there had been what they called a procedural error.