Gabriel Boric’s trip to the pole, which his office called the first by a Latin American president, comes amid rising competition for influence in Antarctica.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric has become the first leader in the Americas to visit the South Pole, his government confirmed.

Boric and a delegation of officials visited Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station which is a US research base. His office said that this was the first time a president from a Latin American nation had set

Chile’s President Gabriel Boric travelled to Antarctica’s South Pole on Friday, a place where no other Latin American president has set foot, according to the Chilean government.