Argentina's relations with the U.S. worsened sharply Monday as the South American country continued to hold military equipment it confiscated last week from a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane sent as part of a training course for local police.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Arturo Valenzuela, called on Argentina to return the property without delay.
"It's absolutely necessary that they immediately return that material. It makes no sense for it to have been confiscated this way. This material was intended for a joint exercise in training people to rescue hostages," Mr. Valenzuela Monday said on CNN en Espanol.
Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman quickly rebutted Mr. Valenzuela and called on the U.S. to apologize for violating Argentine law.
"I told him, 'Arturo, we have to be careful about this. The laws are made to be followed here and in the U.S. We all need to follow them,'" Mr. Timerman said on CNN en Espanol.
Mr. Timerman accused the U.S. of using the plane to smuggle undeclared firearms, surveillance equipment and "various doses of morphine" into the country for ulterior motives.
He also said that U.S. officials have refused to offer any explanation about the seized material, something State Department officials adamantly deny.
Mr. Timerman personally supervised the seizure of the cargo at Argentina's Ezeiza International Airport as perplexed U.S. officials looked on.
