“There was confusion”: Uruguay official clarifies Orsi’s comments on HIF Global criminal complaint

President Yamandú Orsi said Argentina had withdrawn a criminal complaint over the planned location of HIF Global’s green hydrogen plant in Paysandú. Hours later, Argentine prosecutor Josefina Minatta said she had filed the complaint and had not withdrawn it.

Presidential Secretary Alejandro Sánchez acknowledged that Orsi’s statement contained “a confusion.” He said the dispute involved two separate matters. Minatta had filed a judicial complaint, while the Argentine government had made formal objections to the plant’s planned position on the banks of the Uruguay River because officials considered it a form of visual pollution affecting Entre Ríos province.

According to Sánchez, the Argentine authorities dropped those objections after HIF Global agreed to relocate the plant. He said the president likely referred to the government demands that were lifted once the visual pollution concern had been removed. Minatta’s complaint, however, remains before the Argentine courts.

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There was a confusion in the president’s statements.

Sánchez said Minatta’s case concerned opposition to green hydrogen and alleged environmental effects, rather than the plant’s location. He also said Uruguay respected the bilateral treaty governing use of the Uruguay River, while decisions concerning activity on Uruguayan territory fell under Uruguay’s sovereignty.

The official separately rejected criticism from National Party figures over delays in an electricity supply agreement between HIF Global and UTE. He called the attacks on Industry, Energy and Mining Minister Fernanda Cardona unfounded and questioned why opposition leader Álvaro Delgado had not signed the project agreement when his party was in government.

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This is a person who filed a complaint because she is against green hydrogen and its polluting effects, which is a different issue.