by The drastic changes in the leadership of the Armed Forces of the government of Javier Milei show the influence of the chief of staff, Nicolás Posse, through retired Brigadier Jorge Antelo and the Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, through the Minister of Defense, Luis Petri, in the appointments.
And to a lesser extent, that of the Vice President of the Nation, Victoria Villarruel, through the Secretary of Military Affairs, retired Lieutenant General Claudio Pasqualini.
Of the negotiations between these three sectors The name of Brigadier General Alberto Presti arose, whose appointment led to the retirement of 22 generals. older than him, in the greatest purge of democracy. Even the purge carried out by Néstor Kirchner when he appointed General Roberto Bendini as head of the Army, forcing 19 generals to retire. some Historians say that it is even “the largest, in the Army, since 1983” when Raúl Alfonsín spoke.
For their career, the shortlisted candidates They were generals Roberto Agüero and Jorge Berrero but they will finally retire.
With the appointment of Presti, 23 generals will retire (if we add the former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Juan Martín Paleo), out of 35 in total. That is, two thirds of the command corps, a huge loss..
Near Petri it was established Clarion that “the minister took these weeks to define candidates and Finally, after several consultations, he defined it with President Milei.”.
The secrecy was so great that the outgoing military leaders They found out through social networks about their relevantwhen it is customary to notify him in advance, a soldier told Clarion.
“None of the current commanders were not even consulted regarding the relevant”said another uniformed man, upset by the way the changes were made.
Among the outgoing leaders Brigadier Antelo, Posse’s trusted man, is identified as the most influential when it comes to making decisionseven on the military records of other candidates to lead the Army, Navy and Air Force.
In that military sector it is stated that also “It would be the hand of the owner of Aeropuertos Argentinos 2000 Eduardo Eurnekian. behind the appointment of Antelo.” Eurnekian has a historical relationship with the Air Force due to the airport concession given to him by former president Carlos Menem.
Antelo, in aeronautical sources, is linked to the Air Force sector that He wants to buy the 24 North American F 16 fighter planes that Denmark has and they must be reconditioned. This is a business worth around $650 million that competes with the Chinese offer of JF Thunder aircraft.
The operation of the F-16 “is approximately 350 million dollars for the planes and 300 million necessary for infrastructure and logistics.” Posse and Antelo know each other from the time when the former worked for Grupo América.
Who is Antelo? This is a brigadier who retired in 2013. and between 2015 and 2019 he was director of Planning and Strategy of the government of former president Mauricio Macri.
The appointment of Isaac as head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and not of an admiral, as would correspond to him according to the rotation system between the three forces, is consistent with Milei’s decision to align with the foreign policy of the United States and Israel. Isaac was a military attaché in Washington.
Now the military leaders, after this bitter taste, hope that “Petri manage to ensure within the Government that Defense has the necessary funds to pay the two remaining installments for the salary equalization plan with the Security Forces”.
