Chile Files Protest Note After Argentine Air Force General Calls Magellan Strait 'Sovereignty' Issue, Kast Readies Magallanes Trip

Chile's Foreign Ministry delivered a formal diplomatic protest note in Buenos Aires on August 27 after Argentine Air Force chief of staff Brigadier General Gustavo Valverde said 'Magallanes, the south, the Drake [Passage], all of that is sovereignty,' framing the strait as a strategic 'bioceanic' gateway. Chilean Foreign Minister reaffirmed exclusive Chilean jurisdiction over the entire Strait of Magellan under the 1881 border treaty and the 1984 Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Argentine Defense Minister Carlos Alberto Presti moved to defuse the dispute, calling Valverde's remarks 'confusion and carelessness' and stating plainly 'it is not up for discussion that the Strait of Magallanes is Chilean.' The VII Permanent Consultations mechanism between the two countries' defense ministries met in Santiago the same day. President Kast's office began coordinating a multi-day visit to Punta Arenas and the Magallanes region in the following days to observe military deployments and reaffirm Chilean sovereignty over the strait.