The President of Chile Gabriel Boric visited Antarctica, becoming the first Latin American leader to set foot on the South Pole, the press service of the presidential administration announced.
„Operation Polar Star III is the first trip by a sitting Latin American president to the South Pole. It includes a visit to the Chilean Glacier Union polar station and the American Amundsen-Scott station located in Antarctica, the statement said.
Borich was accompanied to Antarctica by the Minister of National Defense Maya Fernandez, the Minister of Environment Maiza Rojas, as well as the commanders of the Chilean Air Force, Navy and Army, and two Chilean scientists.
“The scientific objectives of the operation are to study the chemical and optical characteristics of the surface snow of the South Pole,“ the text notes.
In a live broadcast from Antarctica, Borich said that his trip confirms his “Antarctic vocation“ of Chile and the country's commitment to ensuring that Antarctica “is and will remain for many years to come a continent of science and peace“.
Chile has four permanent and several seasonal stations in Antarctica.