Two senior Biden administration officials will travel to South America between April 11 and April 15 to discuss a wide range of regional issues including Venezuela, climate change and Covid-19 recovery in Argentina and Uruguay, the White House announced on Saturday.

In a statement, the White House said that Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for the Western Hemisphere Juan Gonzalez and Department of State Acting Assistant Secretary for the Western Hemisphere Affairs Julie Chung will travel to Colombia, Argentina and Uruguay for a series of discussions with government officials.

In Colombia, the pair are expected to discuss "economic recovery, security and rural development, the Venezuelan migrant crisis, and Colombia's regional climate leadership."

Border Czar Roberta Jacobson to step down at end of April

In Argentina and Uruguay, they will "address the challenges of the climate crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic and treats to democracy, human rights and security in our hemisphere and around the world."

The visit to Argentina and Uruguay comes just a week after a similar visit by Admiral Craig Faller, the Commander of the US military's Southern Command, which has responsibility for US military operations in Latin America.

AP

During the visit, Southern Command donated three military field hospitals to help Argentina treat Covid-19 patients, a donation that was funded by Southern Command's Humanitarian Assistance Program.

Faller also met with Argentina's Minister of Defense, Agustín Rossi and discussed various aspects of security cooperation with military officials in Uruguay.

In Washington, experts said the visit was likely a form of "medical diplomacy" at a time in which China and Russia are becoming increasingly active on the continent.

"There's a clear effort to provide significant assistance in Covid response," said Benjamin Gedan, a former South America director for the National Security Council at the White House and the director of the Washington DC-based Wilson Center's Argentina Project.

"That's particularly meaningful in South America, where countries like Argentina and Uruguay are seeing the highest numbers of daily cases throughout this entire pandemic," Gedan told LPO.