Members of the Argentine opposition have blasted an executive order by President Javier Milei allowing 30 United States naval officers to come to the country and carry out joint exercises with the Argentine army.

The decree, signed on Tuesday by Milei and 10 other government officials, authorizes the officers of the Naval Special Warfare Command, the U.S. Navy’s elite maritime special operations force, to enter Argentina for a joint exercise with the Argentine Army.

Argentina and the U.S. are allies and similar operations have been carried out in the past — but to many critics, the timing of the decree is telling. Last week, the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump announced that it would support Argentina, which is experiencing an economic crisis, with a bailout. Opposition deputies voiced fears that the deal would come with strings attached, such as the entry of U.S. military into Argentina.

Operation Trident is intended to allow the countries’ militaries to exchange “training procedures, techniques, and tactics among Special Forces to operate in complex scenarios that require multinational coordination,” according to the decree.

It will take place between October 20 and November 15 in three naval bases — Mar del Plata and Puerto Belgrano in Buenos Aires province, and Ushuaia, on the country’s southern tip. It is set to cost AR$60.2 million (US$42,288).

The Peronist mayor of Ushuaia, Walter Vuoto, heavily criticized the measure, arguing that the province of Tierra del Fuego “is not a bargaining chip for [Milei’s] electoral purposes.” 

“It is the gateway to Antarctica, it is the territory that protects our claim to the Malvinas, and above all, it is our home,” he wrote on X. “We will not allow it to be used for purposes that violate our rights and our history.”

Former deputy and left-wing leader Myriam Bregman said that her Frente de Izquierda coalition has “always voted against all these joint operations, almost always in isolation.” 

“It is very good that this longstanding servility is now coming to light,” she added.

Last week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced online that the US was “ready” to purchase Argentine bonds, “prepared to deliver significant stand-by credit” through the Exchange Stabilization Fund, and was negotiating a US$20 billion swap line.

The decree also authorized the deployment of members of the Argentine Army to a Chilean base to participate in a joint operation called Solidaridad (Solidarity).