US Push for Argentina's Infrastructure and Energy

US officials plan to advance investment in Argentina’s railways, waterways, ports, oil pipelines and energy infrastructure during a tour that links the country’s resources and strategic position to Washington’s competition with China. Signed by Christopher Landau and Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno, the Andes-Atlantic Corridor places Vaca Muerta’s shale reserves and the mining sector at its core.

Investment and strategic control

Landau, the US Deputy Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, is leading a tour of Paraguay and Argentina from October 19 to 26. Argentine-born businessman Juan Pablo Segura, appointed Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the region last August, is accompanying him.

The two officials are scheduled to meet Quirno at the San Martín Palace in Buenos Aires at 2pm next Thursday. Official Casa Rosada channels announced their arrival date on Sunday. A State Department statement said Landau would meet “senior Argentine government officials and private-sector leaders.”

The officials’ agenda combines business and security, which the report describes as central pillars of Donald Trump’s new security doctrine. The doctrine aims to prevent outside powers from gaining a foothold in the hemisphere. Landau is among the senior US diplomats responsible for promoting US interests in Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada.

The United States and Argentina announced the Andes-Atlantic Corridor on September 23, during the latest United Nations General Assembly. US officials say they intend to “build on the momentum” of the initiative and seek “ways to drive economic growth, increase US investment and strengthen security cooperation.”

The corridor forms part of US strategic competition with China. It envisages US investment in railways, waterways, ports, oil pipelines and energy infrastructure, with Vaca Muerta’s shale reserves and the mining sector at its core.

Economic power and security

Segura identified economic power as a US instrument in an interview with El Observador days before leaving for the Southern Cone. “One of the strongest tools the United States has is economic power. We are seeing that in Argentina,” he said.

Segura also said the officials would focus on “narcoterrorism” as a “threat to countries’ sovereignty.” On October 5, the National Security Ministry announced that the United States had approved US$13.35 million in funding and that a regional unit of the State Department’s anti-narcotics office would be established in Argentina.

Of the funding, US$7.5 million would go to projects in Argentina, while “regional initiatives” would receive the remainder. The ministry said the allocation increased current cooperation tenfold but offered no further details about the unit’s operations. The State Department said Landau’s visits “reflect the Trump administration’s commitment to a safe, secure and prosperous Western Hemisphere.”

The tour starts in Asunción, where Santiago Peña has emerged as a leading advocate of the administration’s policy of “containing Chinese interference.” Landau isn’t expected to meet President Javier Milei, who is due to arrive in Spain on October 21, presidential spokesperson Adrián Ravier said.

Milei had just returned from his second US visit in a month. During a 36-hour stay in the United States, he received the US Chamber of Commerce’s “World Champion of Free Enterprise” award. He said he had spoken by telephone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, though he didn’t secure a photograph with Trump.

Milei also attended a gala organized by La Derecha Diario and the Heritage Foundation. The report describes the foundation as a controversial think tank behind Project 2025, which envisages a “conservative revolution” in the United States and has links to US Vice-President JD Vance.

After the US midterm elections on November 5, Vance is scheduled to travel to Argentina. The Casa Rosada confirmed the trip would be “a regional visit,” potentially in the third week of November, based on reports the White House hasn’t confirmed.