of the Argentine Confederation and those of Peru and Bolivia, declaring anyone who crossed the border into those countries "traitor to the homeland", which generated warlike demonstrations in Buenos Aires the next day. Both confederations did not have formal diplomatic relations, so the declaration was intended to show the rupture of relations between the two countries. On February 21, Rosas communicated to Chile the bases on which the Argentine Confederation would sign an alliance: 1) The war would not be against the peoples of Peru and Bolivia, but rather against Santa Cruz, who would be forced to evacuate Peru; 2) Santa Cruz would not be allowed to remove armies or armaments from Peru and the Bolivian army should be reduced to maintaining internal order; 3) Tarija would be restored to Argentina, Chile would receive compensation for Freire's pronouncement, and Argentina for the expenses of the war of independence and the unitary incursions; 4) Bolivia and Peru should grant Argentina and Chile favorable trade conditions and adjust limits with them. Portales was upset by the delay in the declaration of war by Rosas and did not accept to include in the alliance the restitution of Tarija nor the compensation for the damages caused by the Unitarians from Bolivia, because the Government of Chile had not participated in these matters. Consequently, the treaty of alliance was suspended, but a de facto alliance was agreed, so that Rosas would declare war on Santa Cruz and not on the Peruvian states. Development of the Conflict Although Argentina officially declared war in 1836, the military actions did not occur until 1837. On May 16, 1837, Rosas designated Alejandro Heredia as "General in Chief of the Confederate Argentine Army of Operations against the tyrant General Santa Cruz." On May 19, 1837, Rosas declared that "the Argentine Confederation is at war with the government of Santa Cruz, and its supporters," without waiting for the pronouncement of the other provinces. Santa Cruz had appointed Otto Philipp Braun as commander of operations in the south, seconded by Generals Francisco Burdett O'Connor, Sebastián Ágreda and Timoteo Raña. Braun's barracks were established in Tupiza where an army that did not exceed 2,400 men was concentrated, almost all of them from Chicheños and Tarijeños, distributed in the following units: 1st Battalion of “La Guardia”, 5th line, 6th “Socabaya”, 8th of "Nationals", with 300, 380, 700 and 600 infantry men respectively; Regiment "Guides