Guatemala refuses to buy Pampas planes and a diplomatic dispute is imminent

The Guatemalan government has informed the authorities of the Argentine aircraft factory (Fadea), located in the city of Córdoba, that it would give up the purchase of the two aircraft Pampa III, which had been agreed as part of an agreement signed on 3 July between President Mauricio Macri and his Guatemalan counterpart, Jimmy Morales.

This unexpected announcement caused the discontent of the Argentine government, which last week celebrated the sales contract. In fact, at the moment, the defense, foreign affairs and Fadea management portfolios are preparing a formal complaint for Guatemala to reverse the situation. A legal escalation could be one of the consequences of the operation for the moment interrupted.

In a statement, Fadea said that the Comptroller General of the Republic of Guatemala had recommended to the Guatemalan Ministry of National Defense "to abandon the current procedure of acquiring two Pampa III aircraft".

However, since Guatemala, the country's army spokesman, Oscar Perez, explained that the purchase enters a "waiting period" because, in accordance with the recommendations of the Comptroller General, a new aircraft acquisition process will be badyzed, as published today. the newspaper La Hora.

"We will comply with the recommendations of the controller. We will withdraw from the process and we will respect the recommendations"said the spokesperson for the military portfolio.

According to the recommendations, the purchase must be carried out in accordance with the law on state contracts, as well as the execution of a call for tenders via the procurement system of the State. State, called Guatecompras.

"We will give a wait time to find out what the repercussions will be," said Perez.

The sale had been agreed as part of a technical-military cooperation agreement between Fadea and the defense ministries of Guatemala and Argentina for the provision of defense and defense equipment. military equipment, according to the release of the state company charged with Antonio Beltramone.

"We understand that this unilateral decision of the Republic of Guatemala takes into account the situation" of this country "which exceeds that of the Argentine Republic, since the agreement was written in a framework of absolute legality and transparency, respecting the formal, legal and technical requirements that guarantee the validity, the validity and the execution", underlines Fadea's statement.

At the same time, he added that "all the relevant procedures will be implemented to preserve the objectives of the agreement reached and to overcome this eventuality as soon as possible", and ratify his "commitment to". effective management of new business development in order to continue on the path of sustainable growth ".

According to the slogan of Infoabe, sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense are preparing a brief asking Guatemala to respect the contract signed last week.

"This corresponds to the normative, contractual, legal and political claims that correspond, through society, defense and chancery, everything has been properly signed between the two parties," warned the government.

At the beginning of the month, Macri and Morales had formalized the transaction for the first exports of the Pampa III aircraft, amounting to $ 28 million, including pilot training and maintenance services..

The Argentina Aircraft Factory, which falls under the Ministry of Defense, recorded a new volume record of activity in 2018, multiplying by seven the register of 2015.

The Pampa III is an advanced basic training plane used by the Argentine Air Force cadets to learn how to fly. They are also used to control and keep borders.

The new version of the aircraft made its first flight in September 2015 and incorporates improvements in digital avionics over previous versions.

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