Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel arrived in Buenos Aires this Sunday to attend inauguration ceremony of Alberto Fernández as head of state of Argentina, official sources reported.
“Upon arrival in Buenos Aires, the President of #Cuba @DiazCanelB is received by Marcelo Suárez Salvia, Protocol and Ceremonial Chief of the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of #Argentina,” said the Cuban Presidency on its official Twitter account.
A video was added in the same social media in which the president is seen getting off the Cubana de Aviación plane at the international airport of the Buenos Aires city of Ezeiza, accompanied by his wife, Lis Cuesta Peraza, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez and Minister of Foreign Trade Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz.
This is Díaz-Canel’s first trip as Cuban president to the South American country.
Argentine Foreign Ministry sources told EFE that on Monday he would place a floral wreath at the foot of the monument to Argentine liberator José de San Martín, a ceremony that is common in the agendas of the presidents who make official visits to Buenos Aires.
Already on Tuesday, he will go to the investiture of Alberto and Cristina Fernández, president and vice president elected after winning the elections of October 27, who will swear their positions in a ceremony in Congress, which in addition to high-ranking state authorities, guest presidents from various countries will attend.
During Cristina Fernández’ term as president (2007-2015), as well as that of her late husband, Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007), Argentina maintained close relations with the Cuban government and its historical leaders, Fidel and Raúl Castro.
Florencia, the Kirchners’ youngest daughter, has been in Havana since March of this year receiving treatment at the Center for Surgical Medical Research, where, among other problems, doctors diagnosed her with post-traumatic stress disorder, which her mother attributes to the “judicial persecution” to which she believed they were subjected to for various cases of corruption.
Cristina Fernández has already visited her daughter several times throughout the year.
The presence of Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez; Uruguayan President-Elect Luis Lacalle Pou; Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, among other high-ranking international representatives, has been confirmed for the inauguration ceremony on Tuesday.
