Foreign Minister of Chile unleashes diplomatic crisis after describing the Argentine ambassador as “crazy”

An audio in which the Chilean chancellor, Antonia Urrejola, branded as “crazy” to the ambassador of Argentina, Rafael Bielsagenerated a controversy in the country on Tuesday.

The Chilean Foreign Ministry recognized on Tuesday the “private meeting audio leaked by mistake”where Urrejola refers in harsh terms about the Argentine diplomat.

Bielsa criticized the decision of the leftist government Gabriel Boric to reject the construction of the “Dominga” mining and port project, due to its environmental impact.

“He does what he wants when he feels like it, and the explanation is that he’s crazy,” the Chilean foreign minister is heard saying in the recording, who also sent the Argentine foreign minister, santiago cafieroa complaint for this case.

“The issue of the Dominga project was a unanimous decision of the council of ministers. Your ambassador directly attacks the government of President Boric on a very critical political issue. It is honestly unacceptable. A few days after we go to the CELAC (summit) in Argentina “Urejola said in a message to Cafiero.

Hours later, Urrejola said in Buenos Aires, where he participated in the CELAC meeting with President Boric, that he did not know that he was being recorded during the meeting and considered the outburst closed.

“My role is to be able to strengthen and take care of the bilateral relationship (with Argentina) and I want to give the certainty that this bilateral relationship is very good,” Urrejola said.

For his part, the Argentine foreign minister stated that “no leak defines relationships between sister countries like Argentina and Chile”.

“We have a huge border with Chile and that border does not have to be a barrier but rather the opportunity to connect, we continue to advance in energy integration and fiber optic projects, and in the relationship on all issues of the challenges facing the world,” he added. in Buenos Aires Coffee.

The leak of the recording, a private conversation between the chancellor and her work team, caused the dismissal of the press officer of the Chilean Foreign Ministry and a wave of criticism from all political sectors, who criticized the carelessness and informal tone of the conversation, in which several profanities sneak in.

The annoyance of the Chilean authorities dates from last week, when Ambassador Bielsa was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to talk about his criticism of “Dominga.”

“Five species of animals woke up jumping today because they are not going to disappear,” Bielsa said ironically after the Boric government’s decision to reject the project because of the environmental damage it would cause in a rich maritime and coastal reserve in the north of the country.

The ambassador added that a project like “Dominga” could be used to load trucks coming from Argentina, through the Agua Negra mountain range crossing.